Believe
by stephdear1980
Summary: SEQUEL to 'The Artist. Roxy is left as a single mother, but she finds comfort in an old friend. RATED M for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

_**Here it is, the sequel to 'The Artist'! I am already on chapter 7, because this story is really speaking to me. There are some lemons like in the rest of my stories, but nothing as bad as chapter 3 of the prequel to this one, and not nearly as often. In fact, there is only one so far and it's on chapter 6. Anyway, to my fans who read 'The Artist' and added it to favorites for an update as to when I was posting this, here you go!**_

_**Also, please, please, please review this one and the last one! I love hearing thoughts and encouragement.**_

_**2 years later**_

I heard a knock on the door and leapt over my toddler son to get to it. I had been in my studio working on my new comic and it had taken a minute for me to realize someone was there.

"Coming!" I yelled.

I swung open the door to my flat and smiled when I saw my best friend, Al standing there with his arms full. I rolled my eyes and stepped out of his way to let him through.

He pecked me on my cheek and grinned down at his godson. "GT! Uncle Albie is here and I brought you some presents!"

My son's face lit up at the sound of his favorite uncle's voice, and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to latch onto Al's leg.

"Honestly, Al! His birthday was two weeks ago, and you bought him enough then! You all are spoiling my son rotten! That's not even the worst of it!" I kneeled down next to my son and took his hands and smiled at him. "Gavin, show Uncle Al what you learned today."

My son smiled as cute as he could and started pointing at things around the flat. "'toopid, 'toopid, toopid."

Al laughed and picked him up. "That isn't very nice, GT. Where did you learn that?"

"Unca Won." My son told him with an innocent face.

Al looked at me curiously. "Ron was here?"

I nodded. "He came by with Papa Harry and Auntie Lils to visit." I raised an eyebrow at him. "I know what you are all doing, and I assure you I am fine. It's been almost a year since Spence left, and I think I am coping quite well."

He frowned and hugged me. "We just worry about you."

"I know Al, but it's harder to move on with my life when no one will let me. The sympathetic looks are getting old. Don't feel sorry for me. It's not so bad anymore, I promise. Besides, he is still a wonderful father for GT, and that is all I care about."

The truth was, we were far better off being friends. After GT was born, we drifted apart, and when I wouldn't set a wedding date because if it, he finally had enough. I couldn't say I blamed him.

Al grinned at me and picked up Gavin. I was surprised the poor kid ever learned to walk, much less run around like a heathen.

"How is your new series going? Your fans were really upset with you when you finished 'Artist'."

I sighed. "That story was finished. I think they will enjoy this one just as much of they give it a chance. The first issue is being released next month. I am putting the finishing touches on the third one. I like to keep ahead of the game."

He opened his mouth and I grinned at him and interrupted him before he had a chance to ask the same question he always did. "Yes, Al, you will get to see it before I send it off. Spencer and his dad think it's brilliant and the test groups loved it. It didn't do as well as 'Artist', but Spencer said that was rare anyway, so I am not disappointed."

"How did it do?"

"8 of 10."

He laughed at me and put his free arm around me. "One little number and you are SO disappointed! You can't lie to me."

I bit my lip and frowned at him. "I am not. Besides, I have other ideas rolling around in my head. It's amazing how having a two year old can expand your imagination." I laughed. "You know he is drawing?"

He shook his head and smiled at GT. "Is little 'Mo drawing now?"

They had nicknamed him Gizmo because he liked to get into things and take them apart, and shortened it to 'Mo. I thought it was cute, and now we called him that so much I think he thought it was really his name.

GT smiled big for his uncle and wiggled out of his arms.

"See Unca Al! See!"

My little genius ran into my studio where I had set up a little play area for him, and brought back his drawings that he had done with his finger paints. You could almost tell what they were supposed to be, which was surprising for a two year old.

"See!" He said again bouncing up and down for Al.

Al sat on the floor in front of him and looked at the pictures.

"Wow, these are very good, Mo! One day you are going to be as good as your mommy."

"Mommy pretty!" GT told him like it was the news of the day.

I winked at my little monster.

"Yes, Mommy is very pretty." Al agreed.

"He is a bit biased, you know." I said. "By the way, that broom you gave him for his birthday has been taken away. As a Healer, I would think you would realize how dangerous they are."

Al frowned at me and pouted. "It's a tradition in my family for godfathers to give their godchildren brooms for their second birthdays."

"No it isn't. I asked your father about that, and he said it was their first birthdays, but Spencer talked you out of it last year. I'm sorry Al, but I think he is still too young. We are already concerned about his slowness when it comes to speaking. I don't want to damage the kid further than I already have."

"He seems to be excelling in other areas, and I told you, sometimes it's a tradeoff. He potty trained early, he started walking early, he fed himself early, and now he is drawing quite well for a toddler. I think he is fine. His speech will catch up. You are a wonderful mother, Rox. GT is advanced for his age. Most magical children are, and he is still ahead of the curve. I am not surprised considering his parents."

I nodded and smiled at my adorable son who was now playing with one of the toys Al had just brought him. He was such an independent child, and I tried not to let that bother me much. He liked to be near me, but liked to do his own thing at the same time. I almost wished for a more clingy child, but I knew it was something he got from me. He looked just like his father aside from the eyes, but he had my personality. My temper had even shown through a few times. I was so proud of him.

"How is Spencer? I know today was a visiting day."

I looked at the floor. "He is fine. He didn't come today, though. He said he will be here tomorrow. He called this morning and said his new secretary was not aware of his schedule and gave some appointments today, but he rescheduled the ones for tomorrow to today and Friday so he could be here tomorrow to pick Mo up. This is his weekend too, so I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"He got a new secretary? You quit?"

I nodded. "I missed the tattoo parlor, and Silver said my old job was mine if I wanted it. I only work when Spence has Mo, and next year I am putting him in a preschool, so I will work more then, too. Spence was annoyed that I quit, but I think deep down he knew it was the right thing for me. I missed Mo, and being a secretary is a full time job. I don't need one to support us, so there is no point in missing out on time with my kid for no reason."

He nodded. "I think you working for Spencer is what caused the rift in the first place. You were gone all day with him at work, and when you got home you would have rather spent your time with Mo or working on your comic book. I am not saying it's all your fault, because he never said a word until he couldn't take it anymore, but I think if you had not been working for him, you would have been more happy to see him when he was home."

"I think it was for the best, Al. Spencer was growing up, and I wasn't. It was more than just that. The comic book for instance. He was growing out of all of that, and I still haven't. He knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life before he started dating me. It was the reason we even met in the first place. Mo changed him completely. For some reason he thought just because we had a child, we had to change our interests and be serious all the time. I didn't know him anymore. We fought constantly, and that was a bad environment for our child. We love each other enough to know that it was best for us to part ways. We are still friends."

He nodded and slid over to put his arms around me and hug me. "You know I love you, Rox. You still have me and everyone else. We are all behind you and supporting the choices you decide to make. I know this is still hard on you, but we will get through this together. I know I am the only one still living across the hall, but Scor, Lils, Nix, and Carolynn are all here as well whenever you need them."

I nodded and wiped my tears away. Lily had moved out over a year ago and got a flat with Scor when they got engaged, and Nix had moved in with Carolynn six months ago. I suspected he was going to propose soon. He was mad over that girl. I still saw them three times a week, at least. I saw Al almost every day, but hardly for very long. This was the longest he had hung out with me since last September. His schedule went crazy. He was considering having his own general practice, but he enjoyed being at St. Mungo's in the maternity ward. He said after taking care of me, he felt like he had found his calling.

Scor was in his last year of Auror training, and Harry and James said this was the hardest year. He was in the field now, and he loved it. Nix was now working for Blaise Zabini in his office, and had actually been my attorney for the custody agreement and child support hearing. Not that Spencer was holding back or not wanting to take care of his child, but he wanted far more custody than I was willing to give him, and that had gotten a tad ugly.

Thanks to Nix, he got every Wednesday, every other weekend, and free visitation. He also got Christmas Eve and the Saturday before Easter, no matter whose weekend it was. Personally, I thought that one had been a bit ridiculous. I was willing to allow him to have Easter as long as I was allowed to spend it with him as well, but Nix said I might not always want that. We shared birthdays. Whoever had him on his birthday took care of his party, and the other one was invited for the day. This year had been me. When he started school, the agreement would have to be redone, but for now this one was fine.

I hung out with Al, and he helped me put Gavin to bed before heading home. I was not long behind my son. He was an early riser, and I would have to pack him up to go to Spence's the next day.

The next morning I woke up to someone shaking me. At first I thought it was Gavin, but I realized he would be jumping on the bed yelling if it were him. I opened one eye, and saw Spencer smiling at me. I sat up and looked at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's nine thirty." He told me.

I gasped and started to jump out of the bed but he put his finger to his lips and pointed next to me. There was my son, curled up in my side, sharing a pillow with Aries. He must have woke up this morning and decided to cuddle instead of wake me up. He was such a sweet boy. I slid quietly out of the bed, and we left the room and closed the door.

"He knows it's a 'Daddy Day', I'm surprised I wasn't awakened four hours ago. I need to get him packed. Sorry. Al came over last night and actually hung out for a bit."

I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee before walking into Mo's room and grabbing his overnight bag to pack.

"Ron was here yesterday, so you will notice our son now has an extended vocabulary."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What did he teach him?"

I laughed. "'toopid'. He points at things he isn't allowed to touch and says 'toopid, toopid, toopid'."

He laughed and shook his head. "He was going to learn it eventually. How is everything else?"

I grinned at him and dropped the bag and went into my studio where I had once again hung his drawings, and showed them proudly to Spencer.

"He is going to be an artist like his mommy!"

He looked at them and nodded. "The talent is definitely there. I wonder if the love for it will be as well. That's what counts, you know. He might have your talent, but he has to have your passion for it."

My smile faltered. He was my son, so surely he would have my passion for art if he had my talent, right?

Spence came over and hugged me. He rested his chin on my head, and naturally he knew what I was thinking. "Relax, I am sure he will have your passion for it. I just wanted to remind you that we promised never to push something on him, even if he had a talent for it. We can't hinder his own dreams with hopes of our own."

I nodded. "I know, I was just excited at how good he was already. I just want him to be happy. I am just hoping that he will be happy painting or something."

Spence chuckled. "He might look like me, but he is definitely you all over again. I think it might be safe to get your hopes up a bit as long as there is no pressure."

"I know." I finished packing Mo up for the night and made breakfast before I let Spencer wake him up.

"How is Al?" He asked me as we all sat down to eat.

"Same as always. He is still busy, and to be honest, I was a bit shocked he stayed as late as he did, last night. He put Mo to bed before he left. He is hardly ever home aside from when he sleeps. I usually only see him for about half an hour, and I usually let him spend that with Mo, but he was in a chatty mood last night."

"Oh? What was he wanting to talk about?"

I shrugged. "For some reason, he and some other people felt the need to check on me yesterday. They were making sure I was ok, which I thought was odd."

He cleared his throat. "_Are_ you ok?"

I raised an eyebrow at him and dropped my fork. "What the hell is going on that I don't know about?"

He looked down at his plate. "You seemed depressed at Mo's party, and everyone was just concerned about you. It has to be difficult raising a child on your own."

I gave him a death glare. "I am not depressed. I was exhausted. Do you have any idea what goes into a child's birthday party? It's a lot of work, Spencer. I am not going to have the same fight with you about exactly _why_ I am raising him on my own, but to be honest, it isn't that damn bad. Yes, there are bad days, but then they are over and I move on. You are not my psychologist, and I would like it if you and everyone else stopped trying to analyze me, thinking I am not handling things on my own."

He nodded and went back to eating. He knew better than to keep pushing me. I couldn't believe everyone thought I was so damn depressed they had to come visit me in force. I actually loved my life the way it was. Sure, it got lonely sometimes, but I was a mother. I couldn't go out and date or anything. Mo was the only man in my life, and to be honest, that wasn't exactly a bad thing.

"Oh, Lily's club opening is Saturday night, if you want to get a babysitter and come, she said to let her know to put your name on the list by that afternoon."

"I will think about it. I suppose I could show up after Mo goes to bed."

"Mommy! I wan' see Auntie Lily!" Mo piped up.

"Sweetheart, you saw her yesterday and that night is for grown-ups. I will make sure you see her after this Daddy Weekend, ok?"

He pouted at me, and gave me those huge sad purple eyes, and I almost melted. I would smuggle that face into the club if I had to so he could see his favorite aunt. He nodded though, and stopped with the guilt face.

After he finished eating, I cleared the table, and set the dishes to washing themselves so I could clean Gavin off and dress him for the day.

"You got another tattoo?" Spencer asked when I was wrestling our child into his pull-up.

"Yeah." I grunted. This child hated underclothes for some reason, and it was always a battle to get them on him.

"What is it?"

"Mo's initials."

When I finally conned and bribed our son into his clothes, I pulled the back of my shirt down a bit more so he could see the tattoo. It was GTM in script with blue daisies woven through the letters.

"Did you draw this one too?"

I shook my head.

"No, it was one of Silver's. I picked the lettering design from his book, and he suggested the daisies as well, and drew it up for me. I also redid my belly button if you haven't noticed. I really loved that piercing."

He grinned at me. "Me too."

I finished getting Gavin ready to go, and kissed him goodbye before they left. I was always sad when he stayed the night somewhere else. I hopped in the shower, and got ready for my own day.


	2. Chapter 2

Saturday night, I got out of the shower and went to my room to get dressed. I had spent most of Thursday shopping for the perfect outfit for Lily's club opening. I might be a mom, but I was also only 19, at least for another week, and I wanted to look and feel like a 19 year old for a change. I had felt 30 for the last two years, and couldn't remember the last time I had worn something sexy.

I put on a hot pink form fitting off the shoulder top that had black leather belt looking straps crisscrossing the front and wrapped around the waist, very low riding, hip hugging wide leg pants that were black with hot pink suspenders that I left down, and a pair of black booties with spiked heels that I put an undetectable enlargement charm on so I didn't fall. I put my hair in duel French braids with hot pink streaks woven through.

I caught a cab downstairs, and gave him the address to the club. I was not going to drive tonight and not be able to drink. When we pulled up out front, I was pleased to see a long line of people wanting to check out my friend's club. She had called it Spitfire. It was an awesome name for a night club, and her nickname.

I got to the door, and the seriously huge bouncer stopped me.

"VIP only, please."

I smiled. "I am on the list."

"Name?"

I thought for a second. I didn't know what name she had put me under. I smiled at him.

"Can I have two tries? She calls me by two different names and I don't know which one she has me under."

He grinned at me. "You are lucky I know who you are. Tell her she should have sent you a text message at least."

"Is it under Moka?"

He nodded and allowed me in. I rolled my eyes. Fucking Lily. I walked in and was already in the VIP area. I spotted everyone at a table in the back, and they waved me over and showed me that they already had my drink for me. I smiled and hugged everyone. I was surprised Al was there. We could have come together.

I slid in next to him and gave him an angry look.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? We could have shared a cab."

He leaned in. "I just got here from work. I didn't know if I would be here, so I told Lil to add me to the list in case I was able to make it."

I nodded. I understood. He really did work some crazy hours. I looked around to see who else was here, and saw a lot of familiar faces from school. Her teammates from quidditch, her cousins, and her close friends were all there.

I smiled when I saw one particular person, and excused myself.

"Aren't you a bit old to be in a night club?" I asked Teddy.

He turned around and hugged me. Our kids were the same age, and would be in the same year at school, so we had play dates several times a week, and had become very close over the last two and a half years. His wife had been a blessing when I was pregnant.

"How are you, Rox?"

"I'm kid free and able to go to a club for the first time in two years. How do you think I am?"

He laughed. "Probably as miserable as Vic and I."

I looked around. "Where is she?"

He pointed at the bar and I saw her with one hand on her hip and the other one waving in the air. I moaned.

"He made her drink wrong?"

Teddy nodded. "I considered going to his rescue, but decided to allow her to make as big an ass of herself as she saw fit."

I took a sip of my long island iced tea. We drank the same thing, and mine tasted fine.

"Is she not drinking her usual?" I asked him and nodded to my drink.

"He didn't put the cherries in it."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. That was something I did. I probably should have told her that no one else did that. I decided to go to the rescue of the bartender and ran over to the bar and touched her shoulder.

"Vics!"

She turned and smiled at me and gave me a hug. "Roxanne! I am so glad you are here. Please tell this man how to do his job."

I gave the bartender a sympathetic smile. "She wants three cherries and a bit of juice in her tea."

"That isn't how this drink is made!" He said.

"I know that, but she doesn't. It's how I make it, and that is the only time she ever had one. And not to be rude, but her sister in law is the owner, so if she wants anything else made differently, I suggest you do it, or Lily will find a bartender who _will_ cater to her family."

Vic gave him a dirty look. "It shouldn't matter who I am. I am a customer, and that is all. He should make the customer happy."

I nodded and patted her shoulder. After he corrected her drink, I escorted her back over to Teddy.

A few minutes later, Al came over and asked me to dance.

"I saw what you did." He told me on the way to the floor.

"What did I do?"

"You threatened the bartender."

"He was being rude to Vic over some damn cherries. The poor girl just wanted some freaking cherries in her drink and he was being an ass about it. Lily would have done the same thing."

He grinned at me, and when we reached the dance floor, he put his arms around me, and we danced together. I loved dancing with him. He was fun, and liked to dance all freaky without getting too grabby. It reminded me of having sex with him, and that made me blush.

After the third song, I spotted Lily making a round in the VIP section and pointed her out to Al, and he nodded. We headed over, and I gave her a hug.

"I love this place, Lils! You did a great job." I told her.

She beamed at me. "Thank you, Rox, let me know if you need anything and I am still open to suggestions."

I shook my head. "Don't change a thing! This place is perfect."

She gave me a curious look. "Vic told me you had to tell off my bartender."

I laughed. "She wanted cherries in her drink and he didn't want to give them to her. You know how Vic is. I suggested to him that he cater to your family, no matter what they wanted."

She nodded. "You are correct. I will talk to him. I don't want people leaving my club and complaining about my pigheaded bartender. Something like that could cost me customers, and I will fire his ass if that happens."

She looked at Al. "What do think?"

He shrugged. "This place screams Lily, so naturally, it's perfect."

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, you biased asshole."

We laughed and she went off to greet someone else after more hugs, and promised she would be over on Monday to see Mo after I told her how sad he was that I was going to see her tonight and he wouldn't.

We went back to the table and ordered another round of drinks and a round of shots. I glanced over at the bar and nudged Al. We laughed when we saw tiny little Lily going off on her giant bartender and pointing in our direction. His eyes were huge, and he looked ready to cry. Leave it to Lily to bring a grown man to his knees. When the waitress approached, Lily took our order and made the drinks herself. I saw the cherries go into my drink, even though I didn't order them for fear of it being spat into.

The waitress came back with a giant smile on her face. Maybe she didn't like the bartender either. "Miss Potter said this round was on the house."

I shook my head and pulled out my purse. "Hell no. I saw her make these herself, and that was worth every penny. Keep the change."

She nodded and went back to the bar to ring up the drinks.

I saw Spencer looking around, and waved to him. He came over and I passed him my drink, and went to the bar to get another one.

"I need one more long island iced tea, please."

"Yes ma'am." He told me.

I felt kind of bad for the guy. "Look, Lily is all bluster, and her nerves are shot. She just opened this place, and you are the bartender for the VIP section. She is going to be freaking out over this section more than the other one, because she is trying to impress her friends and family. I didn't expect Vic to really tell on you, but if it makes you feel better, you won't see her much." I winked at the guy and he smiled and handed me my drink with the cherries in it.

"She was right. I should have just given her what she asked for."

I paid for the drink, tipped him and went back to the table. Spencer slid over so I could sit on the outside of the table.

I hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"How is my Momo?"

"Sleeping. I waited until I heard snoring from his room to leave, and my mother came over to watch him for me. He has been talking about you all day."

That was new. Usually, Daddy days were all about Daddy.

"What was he saying?"

"He misses you, and he is sad because you are going to see Aunt Lily without him, and he thinks you must be lonely."

I laughed. "He is such a little monster! He knew that would have worked on me, and was testing you."

He nodded. "Daddy isn't the sucker that Mommy is. Did you ask Lils about visiting him this week?"

I nodded. "Yes, my poor neglected son will get to see his favorite aunt on Monday. Don't tell him that, though. I want her to just show up and surprise him. Also, you probably don't want to hear about it all day tomorrow." That reminded me of something Mo had said on Friday after Spencer dropped him off. "Are you seeing anyone, Spence?"

"Not really, why?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Not really? Might I suggest that if you are going to introduce women to our son, that they be someone you are serious about? I heard all about 'Tasey'. I am assuming that means either Tracy or Stacey. I am not bitching that you are dating, but I won't have our son exposed to different women paraded in and out of your life. I don't want that kind of an example set for him. Also, you better bet your ass that anyone who is around my kid will be approved by me. The first time I hear about him not being treated well, there will be a situation."

He gave me a dark look. "You are not going to tell me how to run my life, Roxy. You had your chance to do that, and it's over. If I want to date, I damn well will. Do you honestly believe that I would allow someone to be unkind to my own son? You think I haven't heard about the men you have over? Why doesn't that rule apply to you?"

I laughed. "What men? I have not dated anyone since we split up. I am a full time parent. The only man I have time for in my life is my son! If you can pull one name out of your ass, or one instance that you heard about me with a man, I would love to hear it. I didn't even have time for _you_ and we lived together. Nothing has changed. Also, yes. That rule applies to me as well! I fully expect anyone I date and plan to have around your son to have your approval. Like it or not, we are stuck together for the rest of our lives, and I want us to be friends, but that little boy is my first priority, and I am going to filter who his future stepmother might be."

"What did he say about Stacey?"

"He hates her. He said she was mean to him and kept telling him to be quiet. Personally, I thought we wanted him speaking, not shutting up. That's why I felt the need to say something. It pissed me off that some bitch was telling my son to shut up when we have been encouraging him to speak more to improve his speech. It pissed me off more that you allowed it. At least date chicks who like kids if you have a freaking kid. If you don't want parenting responsibilities, you need to tell me now so I can take you back to court. You don't have to be in his life, Spencer. If this is the kind of women you want, you would be doing him a favor."

I took my shot and slammed my glass back on the table and got up and walked to the bar. I was going to get drunk.

I leaned over and told the bartender to give me three more tequila shots. I slammed them down as well and went to the dance floor. I danced with a few random guys before Al came to dance with me again. He had a big ass grin on his face. It annoyed me for some reason.

"What the fuck is so fucking funny?"

"You lectured Spencer on parenting and chased the whole thing with tequila shots and dancing with random men."

I shrugged and went back to dancing. That was about the time I blacked out.

I woke up Sunday afternoon and had no idea where I was or how I had gotten there. It took me a full 10 minutes to realize I was in my own bed. However, I was not alone. I rolled over and saw Al in the bed next to me and had a mental freak out. I looked under the covers and saw he was wearing his jeans and socks. The socks comforted me, and I knew we hadn't had sex. I was only in panties and a tee shirt, and they were not the panties I had worn to the club. That freaked me out again, but after everything Al and I had been through with my naughty bits, I knew I was freaking out for no reason. He was probably the one person on the planet I was safe with. Deep down I knew he had not taken advantage of me.

I had a killer hangover. After I woke up enough to understand my situation, I felt sick and my head was pounding. I ran to the bathroom to puke, and then took a hangover potion. I brushed my teeth and made some coffee and a bagel.

Al came into the kitchen grinning like the Cheshire cat. I rolled my eyes and frowned at him.

"What the hell is so funny, Albus Potter? You act like you have never seen a girl have a hangover before."

He chuckled. "Girls, yes. You, not so much. I only saw you buzzed once, but you got plastered last night. Spencer and I had to carry you out of the club and put you into a cab after you passed out at the table. Thankfully you had stopped lecturing his parenting skills, because you were smashed, and really had no room to talk. I called out from work today to stay with you and make sure you didn't choke on your own vomit in your sleep."

Well, that made me feel like shit. "You didn't have to do that, Al."

"Yes I did. You needed someone to take care of you for a change. Besides, it isn't like you ever get drunk."

"I can't believe I got like that in public and in front of Spencer." I wanted to cry. "He is going to have Mo taken away from me now. He can declare me unfit. After I threatened him last night, he is going to take his chance."

"He won't do that. He was at the club drinking too, and Mo was in his custody. If it would make either of you look bad, it would be him. Besides, deep down, I think he knew you were right. If the shoe were on the other foot, he would want some say in what kind of men were in his son's life."

I shook my head. "Of course he would, but he knows there are no men. That's the problem. It gives me something he doesn't have."

"Have you even thought about dating again? I mean, it's been almost a year, and I would think it would be lonely for you."

I shook my head again. "No. I don't have time for someone else. If Mo's own father got jealous of the time I was spending with my son instead of him, how do you think another man would react? Of course it's lonely sometimes, but it's not worth the hassle of dealing with another man."

"If it was someone who understood, and worked a lot, maybe they wouldn't notice as much."

I snorted. "Yeah right, Al. Where am I going to find this great understanding man who I actually even happen to not only like, but that I can trust with my son? Not to mention, he would obviously have to be Spencer approved."

He blushed and shrugged before taking a sip of his coffee. Wow. I hadn't even considered trying a real relationship with Al after everything that had happened. To be honest, I had not even considered that he would still be interested in me. I needed to think about this really hard before I went any further in this conversation. After all that happened between us, could it even begin to work? This would have a major impact on Mo as well. He adored Al, and I would never want to risk him losing his favorite uncle.

My phone rang and jerked me out of my thoughts. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Spencer.

"Hello?"

"_I am on my way to drop Mo off. I think we need to talk."_

"Um, ok. Come on over."

He hung up without saying goodbye. This was going to be bad. I must have seriously pissed him off.

"Spence is on his way. He is dropping Mo off and wants to talk."

Al nodded. "Do you want me to stay or go?"

"Stay. You can take Mo in his room and play with him while I fight for my rights as a mother."

I went to my room and threw on a pair of jeans. Al held me in his arms trying to calm me down until Spencer got there with our son. He was so thrilled to see Al, he ran right to him and followed him to his room with no hesitation.

I led Spencer into the living room and we sat down.

"So what is this about?"

"I want to be with Stacey. You were right last night. If I don't want to be a parent, it would be kinder to Gavin if I gave up my rights."

My heart broke for my little Mo.

"Spencer, have you really thought about what you are doing? You are going to destroy that innocent child back there. What the hell am I supposed to tell him? His father wanted Stacy instead?"

"I don't know. Tell him whatever you want. It isn't my problem anymore. I don't want to be a parent, and neither does Stacey." Oh my god. I couldn't breathe. Who the hell was this man and what had he done with my Spencer? "It would be easier for my relationship with her if I didn't have a bastard son and a controlling ex." If I could have moved I would have punched him in the face. I couldn't even speak. "Have Phoenix draw up the papers by the end of this week, and I will sign whatever I have to."

He stood and walked out of the flat without even saying goodbye to his son. I sat there in shock for Merlin knew how long, and Al finally came out of the room to make sure everything was ok. He misunderstood my shock as Spencer trying to take Mo away and called Nix over for me. I finally snapped out of it and sent Lily a text message and telling her I needed her to come take Mo out for a bit, and that I would explain later.

I refused to talk to anyone about what was going on until Mo was out of the house. I was not going to talk about this in front of him. When Lily showed up and took Mo out of the house, I sat down with Al, Scor, and Nix.

"Spencer isn't taking Mo away. He is giving up his parental rights. He wants the papers drawn up by the end of the week. It seems he did some thinking about what I said in my drunken stupor last night and has decided he would rather have Stacey than be a father. I don't even know what to tell my two year old. What the hell do I say? 'Daddy wanted Stacey'?" I started hyperventilating again, and Al pulled me back into his arms and held me.

"Sh. It's going to be ok, Rox. I know this sounds awful, but Mo is only two. In a year, he won't even remember who is father was. At least he pulled this now, and not after he was older and could remember him."

"He is going to ask about his father, Al. What the hell am I supposed to tell him? Not just tomorrow, but when he is older."

"The truth. His father ran out on him. He will find out one day, you might as well tell him. Not right now, though. If he asks now, just say you don't know. Kids accept that as an answer. The hardest part is making him understand that it wasn't his fault."

I shook my head. "You know, deep down I always thought there would come a point where Spencer and I worked things out and become a family again. I never thought he would choose a woman over his own son. I honestly thought it was going the other direction."

I broke down crying on Al's shoulder and he held me to him and rocked me back and forth as though he were a parent and I were the child. The thought made me cry even harder.

"Lily and I will take Mo for the night and allow you to work things out, Rox. He shouldn't have to see you like this. You are going to have to be strong for him."

I nodded.

"I will draw up the papers this evening and bring them by in the morning for you to look over before we have Spencer sign them. We will make sure that there are no loopholes, and that once he signs them, there is nothing he can do about changing his mind in the future. The only thing worse than doing this once is having him keep changing his mind and putting you both through this over and over again."

I nodded again. Somehow that didn't sound worse. At least it showed there was a part of him that wanted his son in his life.

Scor went to Mo's room and gathered some things for him to stay the night with them, and he and Nix left. Al just stayed on the couch and didn't say a word. He held me and allowed me to cry and soak his shirt in tears.


	3. Chapter 3

One month after the papers were signed, and the court process was over, I could breathe again. It had taken two months to go through the muggle courts and the Wizengamot both. Nix had meant what he said about making sure there were no loopholes for Spencer to go through. He had no channels left. He was to cut off all communication with both myself and Gavin, and gave up all rights as a parent. Gavin didn't see him again a single time after he was dropped off at home the day after Lily's club opening. Thankfully, family had stepped up and were always there to take him off of my hands when I was feeling too stressed out and starting to have a nervous breakdown. I had made several attempts to sway Spencer in the other direction, but he stood firm, and I had eventually given up and realized that Gavin deserved better than a father who was forced into his life. I also had Gavin's last name changed from Matthews to McAllister. Spencer's parents who were still in his life were not thrilled, but they didn't challenge me after what their son had put me through.

Al was around a lot more too. After the night at the club he started spending the night when he wasn't working, and had practically moved in to help me out. His stuff wasn't at my flat, but he sure was. I suspected he thought I didn't notice he had ninja moved in. I didn't really mind. It was nice having him around more often, and Gavin was thrilled about it. The problem was that we were sharing a bed, and we were not together. I didn't want my son or Al getting ideas, so I decided to be a ninja as well.

It was mid-September, and Al was off, so he had spent the night. I woke up and poured us both a cup of coffee and read the post while I waited for him to wake up.

He came out of the bedroom, kissed the top of my head, and sat next to me at the table.

"Good morning, Al."

"Morning, Rox. How did you sleep?"

I smirked behind my water bill.

"Pretty well, actually. I didn't hear you come in last night. I wish I had, I wanted to talk to you about something before Mo wakes up."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"I have been thinking about Mo, and I think he needs more space. He is more active now, and I think a flat is bad for a toddler. He needs a yard to play in, and maybe a dog to play with. Fall is coming, and I want him to have leaf piles to play in, and a swing set in the back yard. You know?"

He hesitated, but nodded. "I understand. I suppose he does need room to run."

I smiled at him. "I talked to your father, and Grimmuld Place is still empty, and he offered it to us for only a fraction of what we are paying here. I was thinking we could move there at the end of the month. Even after paying the lease termination fees, it would pay for itself after only three months. What do you think?"

"You want to move in two weeks?"

I nodded. "When I explained the situation to your father, he wanted to pack us up yesterday, but I want time to look at the place and see what we need over there before we move in. I had considered a house in Godric's Hollow that was also empty, but no one wants to live three houses down from their parents."

"What?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want to look at the house in Godric's Hollow first?"

"What?"

I sighed. "Al, are you listening to me? I want us to move into a house, and I am trying to decide between Grimmuld Place and Godric's Hollow. I need your opinion, unless you want me to pick on my own. I was thinking that we could go to both houses today and look at them."

"I understand that part, I don't understand if you are saying you want me to move with you or not."

I gave him a blank stare. "Of course I do. You practically live here as it is, and I thought instead of two flats, we could get one house, and you could have your own room. Also, like I said, it's time for Mo to have a yard to play in. There is an adorable house in Godric's Hollow available, and your father offered Grimmuld Place. You are off today, so I thought we could go look at both and see what we think."

His lips twitched and I saw he was trying not to smile. He cleared his throat and nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Why did you consider Godric's Hollow?"

"I love your parents' house, and Teddy and Vic would be living next door. Mo and Dora adore each other, and could play together every day. Also, your parents live three doors down, and Ron and Mione live across the street. He would be surrounded by family."

Two hours later, we were standing in front of number twelve, Grimmuld Place. We had decided to look at that one first. It was rather large. We looked around, and Harry told me about all of the renovations he had done over the years. Personally, I thought the place still seemed a bit cold, but I was sure I could make it feel like a home in no time. Maybe it just needed some love.

"You look scared." Al whispered in my ear.

"This house just seems so cold. I was wondering if Mo would be happy here." I said.

We looked at the backyard, and I let Mo run around the house. Maybe hearing a child's laughter would make the house seem brighter. In actuality, it made the house creepier.

"I know what you are thinking, Roxy." Harry told me. "Trust me, it isn't as bad when there are people living here."

I nodded. "It's a beautiful house, Harry. I was just thinking that it might not be right for us. It's so big for just the three of us. Even with Al taking up a room to himself, and my studio taking another. I still feel like we would be rattling around in here. I could move my entire flat into the library."

I looked at Al. "What do you think?"

He smiled at me. "I think it's your decision. You have an idea about what you want for Mo, and if this isn't it, we still have the cottage to look at, and there are millions of other houses out there. I don't want you to feel like you have to decide on something today."

I smiled back at him and looked back to Harry. "I will think about it. I do want Mo to have room to run around, I just think this might be a bit much."

I located my son in the back yard, and we went to Godric's Hollow. The house was beautiful. It was sunshine yellow with white trim and shutters. It had a white picket fence around it, a tire swing in the front yard, and a front porch big enough to put patio furniture on to sit outside on nice days and drink my coffee. The inside was exactly like everyone else's house that lived here with subtle differences.

I grinned at Al. "Do you want your old room back?"

He laughed. "Hell no, I want James' old room. It was bigger."

Harry rolled his eyes. "By three feet. I have no idea how you even noticed."

Al laughed at his father. "I didn't, but you finally admitted it! You always told us the rooms were the same size."

I laughed at them and went back downstairs to the master suite. We had already decided that I got this room. I felt guilty for about five minutes, but it was technically _my_ house. I was the one buying it, and Al was going to pay rent. The library was going to be both my studio and Al's office. The house had five bedrooms, so after we each got our own room, we were going to make one a guest room, and one a game room. Al also wanted to put a quidditch pitch in the back yard like his parents had. I didn't understand why he couldn't walk three houses over, but whatever.

"I want this house." I told Al.

He hugged me. "I knew you would. We can move in whenever you are ready. I will start packing my flat tonight."

I took in his comforting scent, and found myself wondering if he still tasted like chocolate. My heart dropped at the thought. I shouldn't be thinking these thoughts.

"Mommy! Swing!"

I pulled away from Al, and took Mo to the front yard and set him on the tire swing.

"Hold on tight, Momo!"

He latched his arms around the rope, and I gently pushed him. He squealed with delight, and I knew I had made the right choice. A boy needed a yard to play in.

"If you get on there with him, I can swing you both." Al said from behind me. I hadn't even heard him walking up.

"Ok." I said. I hadn't played on a swing in years. I stopped the swing, and Al pulled Mo off so I could get on, and handed him to me.

"Hold on!" He said with a wicked grin.

He pushed us gently at first, but he slowly went higher and higher. I screamed, but Mo was loving it.

"Higher! Higher, Uncle Al!" My traitor son yelled.

The swing started to spin, and I felt sick.

"Your turn!" I shouted to Al.

He laughed and stopped the swing so we could switch places. I pushed them for a bit, and then we walked back to Harry and Ginny's house.

"So, what did you think?" Ginny asked when we walked in the door.

"I loved it, of course. We decided to get it. I am going to call the real estate agent if you don't mind watching GT for a bit. She said to give her a call after I looked at the house and she could be right over."

She beamed at me, and I realized she had been hoping we would pick that one. Now she had two of her kids in the neighborhood. "Not at all! You go handle your business, and I will look after my grandson."

I laughed when she physically pushed me out the door. I called the real estate agent, and walked back to the house that would soon be ours.

I passed Vic on my way over and gave her the news. She was thrilled. She said Dora would be excited to find out her Momo was living next door. She even offered Teddy up to help us move when we were ready.

Two weeks later, we were in our new house. Mostly. We had moved everything from our flats, but there were still things we needed. Al had decided to move into the room that was exactly like the one he had at his parents' house. We used his old living room furniture in the game room, and mine went into the living room. We needed an extra TV for the game room, and thanks to Al and James not paying attention to what boxes they had, I needed a new set of stemware. I also needed patio furniture for the front porch, and we needed a bedroom set for the guest room. I was no longer working at all since I did not have Spencer to take Mo anymore, and Al worked more hours than I realized were in a week. The upside of that was that I got a lot more work done on my comic book.

About a month after we moved in, I realized how much Al actually worked, and decided to surprise him. I took Mo over to Vic's house, and told her what I was doing. I didn't want Mo to see it, because he would open his big mouth to Al as soon as he saw him, and it might be before I can surprise him. I walked down to Ginny's and asked for her help. She quickly agreed, and we went shopping.

When we got home, she marked off the best spot in the backyard for the pitch we had just bought. It was in the back of the yard where bludgers wouldn't reach the house. She helped me space them the proper distance apart, and we enlarged them to the proper height. Naturally, as soon as they were tall enough to be seen from across the street, Ron came running over to give his assistance.

"Do you ladies need some help?" He asked.

We turned around and he looked like Mo in the pet shops. So hopeful and excited. Ginny and I laughed and she nodded.

"Go get Al's broom so we can make sure they are even and the proper height."

He ran off before she even finished her sentence. He had been begging his wife for a pitch, but she refused him. She said it was unnecessary nonsense, and that if he wanted to play that bad he could go to Harry's.

I nudged her. "You know they are right."

She laughed. "I know, but let my brother have his fun. Besides, it isn't often that he wants to be helpful. He is going to spend about ten minutes at each pole and give his 'professional opinion'. You are never going to get rid of him now."

I smiled. "I don't mind. Now that I am not working, I could use the company. If he wants to come over and play, he is more than welcome."

Ron came back with Al's broom, and Ginny and I sat in the grass and waited for him to inspect the pitch. She was off a bit. He spent fifteen minutes at each pole, but when he came back, he gave us his seal of approval.

He sat in the grass next to us and flung his arm around me. "You should let Al teach Mo to ride a broom."

I smirked at him. "You don't this its toopid?"

He laughed and hugged me to him. "I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't teach the kid a few bad habits. Where is he?"

"At Teddy and Vic's playing with Dora. I didn't want him to see the pitch and ruin Al's surprise."

"When do you think Al will see it?"

I shrugged. "No idea. Could be tonight, could be next week. He isn't home much. Being a Healer is a very time consuming job."

He nodded. "At first, but once he isn't a rookie, he will get set hours."

I frowned. "I just feel bad for him. He has no time for a personal life, and this is when he should be out dating and having fun. Instead he works 15 hours a day and comes home to a kid who doesn't understand what tired means. The kid isn't even his. He shouldn't be stuck in Spencer's role."

"_Is_ he in Spencer's role?" Ginny asked.

I nodded. "It's sad, but he is more of a daddy to Mo than Spencer ever was." I hesitated. "Well, maybe more like a big brother. Al isn't the greatest disciplinarian in the world, and more often than not, he is the one instigating Mo into trouble. Sometimes I think I have two kids, but Al is always there for him."

Ron chuckled. "Mione used to say the same thing to me. She said it was a good balance for the kids, though. She was the strict one, and I was the fun one. It was kind of ironic how I turned out just like my own father, and she is just like my mother."

I was stunned. "You think Mione is like Molly? But Molly is so sweet! I couldn't see a strict bone in her body."

Ginny and Ron both laughed.

"My mother is a scary woman, Roxy. You should have seen her when she was raising us. Now that we are older and have our own families, she isn't as bad, but I still wouldn't cross her." Ginny told me.

"Really?"

They both nodded.

"What's this?"

I turned around and looked over Ron's shoulder to see Al standing there looking up.

"Oh, um, surprise?" I told him weakly. This wasn't how I had planned on showing it to him, but in the end, he got it, so it didn't matter.

"You got me a quidditch pitch?"

"We are gonna go. Come on, Ron. You can play with Al later."

Ron pouted a bit, but gave Al back his broom and they left.

"Do you like it? Your mom helped me set it up, and Ron made sure it was regulation."

"I love it, but why did you do it?"

I blushed and looked down at the grass. "You wanted one, and you have been working so hard that I thought you deserved something fun."

He gave me a big smile and pulled me into a hug and I felt my heart flutter.

"Thank you, Rox."

I nodded into his chest. "I just want you to see that you are appreciated around here and that I know how hard you work and how much you do for me and Mo. You don't have to, but I am so grateful to you."

"Roxy, I love you and Mo. I love being here for the two of you, and I am happy to do whatever I can for you." He released me and picked up his broom. "Come on."

He got on his broom and pulled me up with him. I didn't like flying, but I felt safe with Al's arms around me. We flew around the pitch, and he tried to scare me with some barrel rolls, but I knew he wouldn't drop me. I squealed and laughed, though. It was making my stomach flip like when he was pushing me on the swing.

"Mommy!"

We looked down and Mo was standing there with Lily and Scor. Lily put her hand over Mo's mouth and smiled at us. Al landed the broom, and Mo ran straight to him and jumped in his arms.

I laughed. "Didn't he just call me?"

I went over and hugged Lil and Scor.

"So Al got you on a broom?" Lily asked with a smirk.

"Oh ha ha. You are such a funny gal. How is the club doing?"

"Making me lots of money, so I have to say it's great. I have some news and I was hoping to catch you alone, but no one answered when I knocked, so I went next door, and when Vic told me what you bought Al, I knew you would be out here. Sorry I couldn't lose the shadow. He kind of latched on."

I laughed and glanced at my son who was clinging so tightly to Al that he didn't even have to hold him. "Yeah, he does that. So what is your news?"

"Scor and I decided to get married in two weeks. We decided we wanted a small wedding with just family. I want you to be my maid of honor."

I looked at her suspiciously. "Is that why you wanted to talk to me alone?"

She looked pointedly at Mo, and I gasped. Thankfully Al's attention was on my son who was now climbing all over him. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house and into my bedroom. I sealed and silenced the room.

"How far along are you?"

"About two weeks. I took a test the day I missed my period, and it came up positive. I went to Astoria, and she said I was about two weeks along. When I told Scor, he wanted to elope right then and there, but I refuse to get married without my family there."

"Al is going to kill him."

"We are not telling anyone. Astoria knows, but she said as long as Scor knew, she wouldn't tell anyone else."

I smiled at her. "I bet she was excited."

Lily laughed. "She tried to contain it, but-"

We heard a piercing, blood curdling scream that made me want to faint. I dove over Lily and ran outside where Al and Scor were kneeling over my son who was screaming like someone had chopped his arm off.

"What the hell happened?"

They turned and Al looked really guilty. "He fell and broke his arm."

"Albus Potter, if you tell me he fell off of your broom, you are going to be removing my foot from your ass!"

He shook his head. "No, he was on my shoulder and lost his grip."

He picked Mo up and carried him inside and after he sat him on the couch and told him not to move, he ran up to his room and came back with his potions bag.

"Ok little man, I am going to numb your arm. Hold very still for me. Can you do that?"

Mo nodded, and Al set to work. He used his wand to look at the bone and then set it. He gave him some potion to drink, and when he looked at the bone again, you couldn't even tell it had been broken.

Mo was still crying, but I knew they were sympathy tears. Al cuddled him and wiped his tears for him before handing him to me. I was sure I needed the hug more than Mo did. My poor baby had been in pain.

He looked over at Al and smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."

I groaned. I knew that was bound to happen.

Al didn't even flinch. He smiled back at him. "You're welcome, little man."

That night after I put Mo to bed, Al brought me a glass of wine and we sat on the couch.

"You know we have to talk about what happened, right?" I asked him.

He nodded and put his arm around me. "Let me say this, and then you can say what you have to say. Is it really such a bad thing that he called me that? The kid needs a father figure, and you know he couldn't do much better than myself. I _want_ to be a daddy to him. I told you today that I loved you both. I know you love me too, and to be honest, I don't know what the hell we are waiting for."

"What?"

"Us, Roxy. What are we waiting for? We love each other and there is no reason we can't be together. I know I made mistakes in the past, but I have grown up and so have you. Please give us a real chance. We never had that. It would put us both out of our misery, and we could be a real family."

I sighed. Merlin knew he was right. I loved Al. I never stopped loving him and the only thing that stopped me in the past after Spencer and I broke up was Mo. I didn't want to put Al in that position, but he was sitting here begging for the job. I had to admit that he had grown up quite a bit, and I felt like I could trust him again.

"Yes, Al. I want to give us a chance too. But you need to be really sure. It isn't just us that could get hurt this time. There is an innocent child in all of this. He already lost one dad."

He nodded and kissed the top of my head. "I know. Trust me, I thought this out completely and for a long time."

I looked up at him. "For how long?"

"Since you and Spencer started having serious problems. I knew what was about to happen, and I knew why."

I laughed. "So when your best friend and her boyfriend are having problems, and you see the break up coming, instead of trying to help, your first thought is, 'now is my chance'?"

He nodded. "I am still a man in love, Roxy, but if you recall, I did try to help you and you accused me of taking his side before I could even finish my first sentence. I never stopped loving you, Roxy. I just wanted you to be happy, and when that stopped being the case, I laid in bed so many nights just thinking about all the ways I could make you that way. I know it took me three years to grow up enough to prove myself to you, but I want you to believe in me now. I can be strong for the two of you now."

I smiled at him. I could see the love and longing in his eyes. He was a drowning man, and I was his life boat. My walls crashed down in that instant. It was like they had never been there to begin with. I let him walk right in and set up shop.

"I love you, Al."

His eyes began to water, and he leaned in and kissed me. He still tasted like chocolate, and that made me smile.

"I love you too, Rox."

The next morning, I woke up, and smiled when I looked around. Al had his arm across my waist, and Mo was between us on his stomach with and arm across each of us. I slid away from my boys and went to make breakfast.

_**A/N: It was brought to my attention that some people could not review my stories. This has been amended :D**_

_**Steph.**_

_**I would also like to thank the sweet people who have reviewed so far. Your words have encouraged me to keep going with this story, and to finish my other incomplete stories. I think I have serious ADD. I get to writing one, get an idea, and start another…lol.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Lily's wedding day approached quickly. She was a nervous wreck, and being pregnant didn't help. I knew first-hand what she was feeling, and I knew it was sheer misery. She was going to have to tell people eventually. I decided to talk to her while we were alone and I was doing her hair.

"Lily, you have to tell people what is going on."

She shook her head. "Al would be so pissed."

I laughed. "No he wouldn't. Remember when it was me? I was younger than you are, and he was fully supportive."

She raised an eyebrow. "Because for about five seconds, he thought he was the father. It's different. I am his little sister, and he has always been so protective over me. Why do you think I dated all of those idiots in school? It was the only thing that made him realize he wanted me with someone like Scor."

"You dated all of those idiots in school to keep your mind off of the biggest idiot of all of them."

She frowned at me. "That's beside the point. Anyway, Al is going to shit himself."

I laughed. "You do know he is a Healer in the maternity and pediatric ward right? He probably knows already."

Her eyes got huge and she looked at me in sheer panic. "Has he said anything?"

I shook my head. "No, but he wouldn't say anything until he was sure. I think it's cute that his opinion is the one that matters."

"Of course it is. He is the brother I am closest to, and he is Scor's best friend. We are scared out of our minds that he will disown us."

I stroked her hand to calm her down. "Let him be your healer. That will butter him up enough to chill him out. He was mine, and I was very well taken care of. Plus he got to see GT grow in my belly. That big softie eats that shit up."

"What about Astoria?"

"She retired. Just tell her you want her in the delivery room with you and allow her to do sonograms whenever she wants. It's the reason she wants to be your healer in the first place. That's what I did. Makes everyone happy."

I finished curling her hair, and helped her with her dress. It was a simple strapless with a bell skirt made of tulle. She looked so beautiful. I never understood how Lily could get away with wearing the most simple of clothes and make them look so spectacular.

"Lily, how do you do that?"

She looked confused. "Do what?"

"How do you wear such plain clothes and still look so, well, not plain?"

She laughed. "The same way you don't have to wear makeup ever. Some of us have more presence, and some of us have flawless skin and beautiful skin tone."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I doubt that. In all honesty, its laziness, but I do wear it sometimes."

I put on my own dress next. It was a floor length gold dress with a slit up to the thigh. They were doing their wedding in fall colors, and I told Lily that if my dress was orange or brown I would walk out and leave, so she came up with gold. It tied around my neck, was backless, and fit to my form. It was far more flattering than I thought it would be when I first saw it. My hair was in waves, but twisted up and cascading down my back and around my face.

I was putting on my strappy heels when Mo came running in looking scared.

"Mommy! Daddy needs you!"

I looked at Lily and she nodded.

"Go see what he wants. They are in George's old room."

I walked up the stairs, and when I entered the room, Al was sitting on the bed breathing through a bag. I smiled at him. I knew Lily's wedding was going to be hard on him.

"Is it really that bad, Al?"

"Lily is pregnant."

I laughed and closed the door and silenced the room. "How did you find out?"

"I'm a Healer, Roxanne." He said in a dry tone.

"Scor told you?"

"He knows too?"

I nodded. "Only four people know, Al. They want to tell you, but they are scared out of their minds that you will hate them. You know, I think you are the reason for the rushed wedding. They don't even care about anyone else's opinion."

"I heard one of her friends talking about Lily's nausea. That's how I found out. How did you?"

"She told me right before Mo broke his arm. You know, Lily and Scor love you so much, Al. I hope you will remember that you have had a couple of scares yourself, and just be happy for them and not judge. Remember that they are getting married today. It's not like he dishonored her."

He sighed and relaxed a bit. "You're right. I just need to calm down and support my sister and my best friend."

"Are you ok now?"

He nodded.

"Ok, I have to get back to Lily. I will see you later ok?" I kissed him and left the room.

"Mommy, is Daddy ok?"

I nodded. "Daddy is fine, sweetheart. Why don't you go keep him company until the ceremony starts?"

My adorable little boy nodded his head, and ran back into the room with Al. I knew if anything could cheer him up, it was GT.

I went back into Ginny's old room to wait with Lily. The ceremony should be starting soon and I needed to make sure she was ok.

"Is Al ok?" She asked when I walked in.

I wasn't sure if I should tell her he knew or not, but it would prove my point if I did. I bit my lip. "He knows you are pregnant and had a bit of a nervous breakdown."

She went pale. "What?"

I smiled at her. "He is fine now. I talked him off of the ledge, and he is perfectly calm. Not so pleased with me that I knew and didn't tell him, but hey, pick your battles. Am I right?"

She gave a nervous laugh and took my hand. "Thank you, Roxy. He is so lucky to have you. I am so happy the two of you are together."

I laughed. "Are you kidding? I am the clear winner in this relationship. I can't believe I ever hated him."

"Are you really in love with him?"

I nodded. "Madly. He is so wonderful. I almost wish we hadn't broken up before."

"Almost?"

"I wouldn't trade Gavin for anything, but I am glad we are together now. Back then was just the wrong time for us. I wish he was Gavin's real father, but that can't be helped. Besides, maybe its best that he isn't."

Harry came in the room. He smiled at us and looked ready to cry. I couldn't blame him. I would probably be a wreck when Mo got married. Now that I was a parent, I understood all the stuff my parents ever did. Well, most of it.

"It's time, ladies. You both look so beautiful."

I smiled at him and left the room to give them some time alone. I waited at the back door for my signal. I realized I forgot my flowers and ran back to the room. I overheard them talking and felt bad for interrupting, until I heard what they were talking about and froze.

"Today? Are you sure?" It was Harry.

"Yes, he talked to us about it to make sure we would be ok with it. I am so excited!"

"Do you think she will say yes, though?"

"I think he might feel it out, but we set up what he asked us to. I just wanted to give your poor emotions a warning. I knew its already hard watching me get married."

I knocked on the door, and opened it. "I forgot my flowers. Five minutes, by the way." I smiled at Lily and gave her a thumbs up and darted back out of the room. I ran to the back door to wait. I didn't want to hear anymore. I didn't want to freak out or get my hopes up if it wasn't what I suspected, and even if it was, it didn't mean the who was correct.

I felt my knees buckle under me. I was freaking out for no reason.

"Mommy? Are you ok?" I looked over at the guys standing there looking so handsome. My men. I smiled at Mo and kissed his nose.

"Mommy is fine, Momo. I am just so happy for Auntie today." He smiled and bounced up and down and I laughed.

Al wasn't so easy to pacify. Damn him. He kissed my hand. "Are you sure you are ok?"

I nodded. "I can't find Dora. If her flower girl isn't here, Lily is going to freak. Where is Scor?"

He smiled. "Getting a juice stain from Dora's dress."

I tried to look like I was relaxed.

"Don't worry, Rox. Lily's wedding is going to be perfect for her. She already threatened everyone's life."

I laughed at him. He would know. He had to jump between her and Scor when he cracked a joke about over sleeping today.

Scor and Dora came around the corner, and I gave the boys a hug before they walked to the arch thing where Lils and Scor would say their vows. The music started and Lily still wasn't here, but I sent Dora down the aisle anyway.

Harry came around the corner without Lily and he looked panicked. "Did it start already?"

I nodded.

"You have to stall and bring me Al. Lily fainted!"

Oh shit. This wasn't good. I took off my shoes, and ran down the aisle to some chuckles, but they thought we were starting, so I couldn't blame them. I gave the band the signal to cut the music, and told Scor we needed to stall for a minute, grabbed Al and ran back to the house.

"Lily fainted. I didn't want to tell Scor because he would only panic."

He nodded and followed me into his mother's old bedroom. When we got there, she was in the bed sitting up with a glass of juice. At least she was awake.

"Roxy, go out there and tell them we need about 10 minutes." Al said. "Take my father with you."

I took Harry's hand and we went back outside. I went back to the front of the aisle and addressed the guests.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is going to be a slight 10 minute delay. Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes. It seems the bride has misplaced her something blue." It was all I could think of. Lily had been bridezilla for the last two weeks. This would be believable to them.

Scor grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side.

"What the bloody hell is really going on? She wouldn't need Al for that."

I sighed. He knew when my ass was lying. "Ok, but you can't freak out and go in the house, ok?"

He nodded.

"Lily had a slight fainting spell, but Al is taking care of her. There is nothing to worry about. It's normal for pregnant women to get a bit faint. Happened to me all the time, remember?"

"Does Al know?"

"Yes, but he is ok with it. No worries. Just act like nothing is wrong."

Ahh. What was a wedding without some drama? At least it was the bride causing it. Al came out of the house and gave me the thumbs up, so I took Dora and went back to the house followed by Harry.

When I saw Lily, she looked a bit pale, but normal. I used my wand to fix her out of place hairs and sent Dora back out when the music started again.

"Are you ok?"

She nodded. "Just nerves. Al gave me something to calm me down, and I am fine now."

I smirked at her. Those blood potions were nasty. Her iron was low from the pregnancy, and Al chewed her ass out. I saw it in her face.

"He is a Healer and knows what he is doing, Lils. Just remember that."

I went down the aisle when it was my turn, and winked at Scor to let him know his soon to be wife was just fine. I was about halfway down when I realized I had forgotten to put my shoes back on, but just ignored it.

During the ceremony, I locked eyes with Al and I knew my suspicions were correct. It was written all over his face, and I knew what my answer would be. I started to tear up, and tried to wipe my eyes without sniffling.

When the ceremony was over, I held hands with Al and we walked back to the house to help Lily with her dress so she would be able to dance. I thought it was a bit short, but she still looked beautiful. It turned out that under the tulle was a mini dress. I helped her take the pins out of her hair, and she undid her pearl necklace to make it longer.

"You are like, transformer bride." I laughed.

She smiled at me. "It looks good though, right?"

I nodded, and we met the guys outside of the front door to walk back to the party. We sat at our table with Lils and Scor, and were served dinner.

We only made it about halfway when the first kid started whining. Naturally it was mine. My face went red, and Al laughed.

"Noooo! I want to sit with Daddy!"

I looked over at my parents who were trying desperately to restrain him. He let out his high pitched squeal and I was mortified. I gave him the death look and it shut him up, but he only looked at Al.

"Just let him come sit on my lap. He will be fine."

I sighed and nodded and he went and got Mo. When he came back and sat down, I still lectured him.

"Momo! What did I tell you today?"

He pouted. "To behave."

"Yes, that's right. Was screaming like that at Grandma and Grandpa your best behavior?"

He shook his head and gave me the sad face that I was a sucker for.

"I just wanted to sit with Daddy."

"You have been with Daddy all day. Don't you want to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa?"

He shook his head and I tried not to laugh. This kid was seriously attached to Al. Even I was second best to his hero. He had become so clingy since Spencer stopped being in his life. I was afraid he was developing abandonment issues.

I shook my head and went back to eating. "This is madness. He has to learn that he can't be on your hip all the time."

"I can't help it if he senses my awesomeness."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "The madness is catching."

He nudged me, and I kissed him. "I still love you, even if you are mad."

"So come be mad with me. Mo is, and he loves it."

I laughed again. "That's ok. Someone in this family has to remain sane."

He grinned at me. "I have to do my toast. Will you hold the munchkin for a minute?"

I nodded and took Gavin off of Al's lap and put him on mine. He looked tired. I wondered if he had had a nap today. I sighed. Probably not.

Al stood and raised his glass, and everyone shut up.

"I just want to say that Scorpius is my best friend, and Lily is my little sister. I love them both, and I hope that they will be very happy together. My sister has loved him for a very long time, and I hope that now that he was smart enough to realize what he had in her, he treats her well, or I might break his legs. The great part is, I can heal them and break them again." Everyone laughed, but I gave Scor a nervous glance, and he seemed to believe Al. "Anyway, to Scor and Lils, two of my favorite people in the world. I love you and wish you all the happiness."

Everyone tilted their glasses, and he hugged them. I rolled my eyes and stood to give the maid of honor speech after handing Mo back to Al.

"Well, that was, well, you all know Al." They laughed. "I want to be a bit more sentimental, as Lil and Scor are also very important to me. I met Lils my second year at Hogwarts. It was her first. She got lost on her way to potions class, and I walked her down to the dungeons and took a detention for her, as it had caused me to be late to my own class. At the time, I had no idea who she was or that I couldn't stand her brother. If I had known, I might not have taken that fateful walk. When she found out that I had gotten in trouble on her behalf, my darling Lily stayed with me in detention and helped me polish that damn armor. We still joke that our fingers haven't worked properly since." Lily grinned at me and took my hand. "After that detention, we became joined at the hip. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. She is like a sister to me, and I love her dearly. She has always stuck by my side like that. Well, aside from the time she slept through her room beating the crap out of me, and I had to be rescued by her father and her brothers. Anyway, Scorpius and I became friends during seventh year at school, and I am ever so glad we did. He is also one of my best friends, and there is nothing better than seeing two of the people you love the most find love with each other. I wish them all of the happiness in the world, and I can't think of two people who deserve it more."

I was weeping again, and I hugged them before I sat down. After the toasts were over, they got up and did their first dance. When I heard the song start playing, I snorted into my champagne.

"Is that Safety Dance?" I laughed and Al shrugged. "You don't see the irony in that?"

He shook his head. He looked freaked out for some reason. My heart sank. He had to have been thinking about the past. I took his hand.

"Al, all of that is the past. It's over."

He looked at me curiously. "What?"

"Are you thinking about the past? You look a bit pale."

He smiled and shook his head. "No, babe. Everything is fine. I was just thinking about them and you know, the news."

I nodded. "That was kind of my joke a minute ago, but maybe it's too soon for jokes."

The song ended and everyone clapped.

"The bride and groom have requested that the next song belong to the maid of honor and the best man as a thank you for all of the work that they put into this evening." The DJ announced. I noticed that it was the DJ from her nightclub.

I smiled at Lily as she took my sleeping child out of my arms.

"You can probably just hand him to my parents at this point."

She nodded and took him back to his grandparents. He waited until Al escorted me onto the floor to start the song. He pulled me into his arms and held me closely and sang the song to me as we danced.

_Lying beside you here in the dark  
Feeling your heart beat with mine  
Softly you whisper, you're so sincere  
How could our love be so blind?_

We sailed on together  
We drifted apart  
And here you are by my side

So now I come to you with open arms  
Nothing to hide, believe what I say  
So here I am with open arms  
Hoping you'll see what your love means to me, open arms

Living without you, living alone  
This empty house seems so cold  
Wanting to hold you, wanting you near  
How much I wanted you home

But now that you've come back  
Turned night into day  
I need you to stay

So now I come to you with open arms  
Nothing to hide, believe what I say  
So here I am with open arms  
Hoping you'll see what your love means to me, open arms

When the song ended, I wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed him. He looked behind me and nodded, and someone ran over and handed him a microphone.

"Roxanne, I love you. I have been in love with you since third year, and probably longer since it took me that long to realize it. You and Mo are everything to me, and I know that you have given me more than one chance in the past and I have blown it, but I hope I have proven myself to you. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to grow up and that I have put you through so much hell. You told me once that you fell in love with me the day I held you in my arms while you got treated for injuries back in seventh year and that those feelings never went away despite everything else we went through. I really hope you mean that, because I am even more in love with you now than I was the day we had our first kiss." He got on one knee and I started to feel faint. I knew this was going to happen at some point tonight, but this was just so real. He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it. "Will you marry me, Roxy?"

I couldn't speak, so I nodded. He slipped the ring on my finger, got up and kissed me. Everyone clapped, and Lily jumped on us squealing and hugging me.

"We are going to be sisters for real!" she squeaked.

I smiled at her and nodded. I still couldn't speak.

Harry, Ginny, and my parents came over to congratulate us.

"So when is the wedding?" My mom asked.

I just looked at her with my mouth open. I wasn't engaged for five minutes yet and she already wanted to know a date? I shrugged and moved to put my arms around Al.

"Actually, I have a date in mind, but I want to talk to Roxy alone about it first."

Harry glanced at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Son, maybe you should let the shock wear off first. Let it sink in for a minute. The poor girl got put on the spot in front of everyone and hasn't had a chance to breathe. Maybe you should take her for a walk in the garden. Don't worry about Mo anymore tonight. He can stay with us, and you can pick him up tomorrow sometime."

Al nodded, and took my hand and led me to the garden. Once we were away from everyone, I stopped feeling so claustrophobic and could breathe again.

"Are you ok, Roxy? I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. I guess I should have thought it through."

"I'm fine, Al. Just in a bit of shock." I sat down on a bench. "What day were you thinking?"

"Oh, um, New Year's Day."

"This year?"

He nodded and smiled at me.

"I certainly don't have to ask why." I said and smiled at him.

"Roxy, I don't want you to feel pressured."

"I don't. I am just trying to take it all in. We can get married on New Years' Day if you want. I think it's romantic. I want to be your wife, Al. I don't care if we elope tomorrow. We have been through enough together that I am sure I love you and that you love me."

"There is something else I want to talk to you about." He said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What is that?"

"Mo. I want him to take my name when you do. I want him to be as much a Potter as you will be and our future children will. I don't want any of that stepdad nonsense. Also, I think we should change his godparents over to Scor and Lily."

I laughed at him. "You have seriously put more thought into this than I realized."

"Of course I have. I don't want to make any more mistakes when it comes to you. I know I will, but I am really trying not to make the big ones. Why do you think we haven't made love? It screwed everything up for us in the past, and I don't want it to get that far again until we get married."

"I want to have a muggle wedding." I told him. "I want to invite Silver and Erin, and our other muggle friends. I want to get married in a church, and we can have the reception at Lily's bar. She would freaking love that."

"So you really want to do this?" He asked.

"Yes, Al. I love you. Why do you think you have to ask?"

"You just don't seem excited about it."

"I am. I'm just a bit scared out of my mind. My last engagement didn't work out that well, and I want to make sure you really want this."

He pulled me to him and kissed. "I want you. I want to make a family with you and Mo. A real family. I was promised a real schedule next week too, so I will even be home more. They are ready to cut me loose from my trainers, so I will be a full on Healer working 3 twelve hour shifts a week."

I smiled at him and gave him a hug. "That's awesome, Al. I am so happy for you. You worked really hard for that. Are they keeping you in your department?"

He nodded. "Yep. I told them that I either went there or I went to a private practice."

"Wow, Healer Potter. Look at you, all important and stuff." I said and chuckled.

He scoffed. "Please, I could never compete with the ever famous Moka."

I groaned. "You haven't called me that in years."

He laughed. "It was due."

I poked him in the ribs, and gave him a kiss. "We should get back to the party and give everyone the good news. Plus, your parents might be ready to go, and I want to say goodnight to Mo before they leave."

He kissed me again, and took my hand in his and we headed back to the party.

"By the way, I know I have been too distracted to say anything tonight, but you look phenomenal this evening. It makes me wish I hadn't promised myself I wouldn't ravish you."

I laughed and kissed him again before we walked back under the tent.


	5. Chapter 5

Instead of the usual New Years' Eve party, we decided we would have my bachelorette party and Al's bachelor party that night. Being my matron of honor, Lily was in charge of the night, and I let her take the lead no questions asked. I did not expect her to lead me into a strip club.

"Relax, Moka. It's a girl strip club. Al said no naked men. He said nothing about naked women." She told me as she paid for me to get a lap dance.

I laughed at her. She was right. At least I didn't have some sweaty man gyrating in my face. I looked over at Erin, and she looked a little too excited. Poor Rose and Hermione looked horrified, and my mother, Astoria and Ginny kept talking to the dancers and asking them questions about their work. Vic and Carolynn were on the same page as Lily and Erin.

"Is this your bachelorette party?" The dancer asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, getting married tomorrow."

She grinned at me. "Would you be willing to dance on the pole?"

Lily squealed and answered for me before I could politely decline. "She would LOVE to!"

I never wanted to choke that girl so bad in my life.

The dancer smiled at Lily. "Let me go talk to the DJ and tell him. What do you want us to call you?"

"My name is-"

"Moka!" Lily answered.

I panicked. "NO! No, you can't use that name! Just call me Roxy." Was Lily out of her damn mind? We were in fucking London, and I had gotten kind of famous since I started releasing my books to the muggles. Apparently it was some kind of news for a young female artist to take off as quickly as I did.

The dancer nodded and walked off. I would dance to shut Lily up, but I was not going to use my pen name and discredit myself as an artist.

"You haven't changed as much as everyone thinks you have." Lily told me.

I looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

She smiled at me. "You are still a bit of a prude and kind of shy. Everyone thinks that since that summer after you graduated, you have come out of your shell a lot, but the truth is, you are still the same Roxy. To be honest, I can tell you and Al are not having sex, too."

My mouth fell open. "Oh my god, Lily. What the hell?"

"Don't get me wrong, I can tell how much you have grown as a person, but you were not really the one that needed to become more mature. If anything, you needed to relax a bit."

I rolled my eyes. "Just so you know, my not shagging your brother has nothing to do with my shell. It was his idea. Not that it's any of your business. He said that us sleeping together was what ruined everything in the past, and he wanted to do it right this time."

She looked surprised. I suppose in her shoes I would have been too. Al had quite the reputation for being a man whore, and even his sister was still a tad shocked to find out what a good guy he really was.

She started laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. "They think you are pregnant and you are not even shagging!" She pointed at the other people at the table who all started blushing and giving Lily death glares.

"What?" I asked and looked at them.

Ginny took my hand. "It's just that the wedding was kind of rushed, and we thought maybe you were pregnant with Al's child. Not that we minded, we just hoped you would have told us. We supported you last time you got in trouble, and we would have supported you this time as well."

I looked at my drink and remembered how much I had drank at Lily's wedding only a month before. "Did you really think I would be drinking alcohol if I were pregnant? I mean, I suppose I can't blame you for thinking I was knocked up considering everything, but I mean, the signs are there that I am not. Not to mention, you all know I wouldn't get married just because I was pregnant. Al wanted to get married on New Years' Day because it was when we had our first kiss and when I fell in love with him. If he had plucked up his courage much sooner, it wouldn't seem so rushed."

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are celebrating a bachelorette party this evening, and the bride to be has agreed to dance on stage for us! Everyone give it up for ROXY! Remember to tip, gentlemen, it's this poor girl's last night as a free woman! Let's send her to hell properly!"

I glared at the table. "This conversation isn't over." I told them, and allowed the dancer that had given me my lap dance to lead me on stage.

"Don't worry, I will dance with you." She said as though I found that comforting. To be honest, I always wanted to try this, just not in public.

The music started.

I grabbed the pole and started shaking my ass to the music. My party was at the stage cheering. In for a penny in for a pound, I suppose.

_Kelly won't kiss my friend Cassandra,  
Jessica won't play ball.  
Mandy won't share her friend Miranda,  
Doesn't anybody live at all?_

___**The dancer wrapped her arms around me from behind and started grinding on me. I smiled and played into it.**__  
_

_Amanda won't leave me empty handed,  
Got her number from the bathroom stall.  
Brandy just got way too much baggage,  
And that shit just gets old._

But I got a girl who can put on a show,  
The dollar decides how far you can go.

_**The dancer led me to my knees on the stage and I crawled over to my friends and took the money from Lily's mouth with mine. She winked at me and I blushed.**___

She wraps those hands around that pole,  
She licks those lips and off we go,  
She takes it off nice and slow,  
'Cause that's PORNSTAR DANCIN'!  


_**I got up and went back to the pole and shook my ass some more and swung around the pole.**_

_She don't play nice, she makes me beg,  
She drops that dress around her legs,  
And I'm sittin' right by the stage for this,  
PORNSTAR DANCIN'!_

_Your body's lightin' up the room.  
I want a naughty girl like you.  
There's nothing harder to do._

_**I took off the dancer's top with my teeth and the men cheered loudly. I winked at them and ran my hands down her hips and hooked my fingers in her skirt, but didn't take it off yet.**___

Stacy's gunna save herself for marriage,  
But that's just not my style.  
She's got a pair that's nice to stare at,  
But I want Girls Gone Wild.

___**I spun her around to face me and lowered her skirt, and grabbed her ass. She was laughing at this, and I grinned at the men and wiggled my eyebrows. She was still wearing a thong, so I let her loose and we danced on the pole some more.**_

_But I know a place where there's always a show,  
The dollar decides how far you can go._

She wraps those hands around that pole,  
She licks those lips and off we go,  
She takes it off nice and slow,  
'Cause that's PORNSTAR DANCIN'!

_She don't play nice, she makes me beg,  
She drops that dress around her legs,  
And I'm sittin' right by the stage for this,  
PORNSTAR DANCIN'!_

Your body's lightin' up the room.  
I want a naughty girl like you.  
Let's throw a party just for two,  
You know those normal girls won't do.

___**I got on my knees and took her thong off from the side with my teeth. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I stood up and she kissed me before she spun around the pole upside down.**_

_She wraps those hands around that pole,  
She licks those lips and off we go,  
She takes it off nice and slow,  
'Cause that's PORNSTAR DANCIN'!_

She don't play nice, she makes me beg,  
She drops that dress around her legs,  
And I'm sittin' right by the stage for this,  
PORNSTAR DANCIN'!

_**Everyone was cheering loudly, and she took my hand and we took a bow before she collected the money on the stage and handed it to me.**_

"Give it up one more time for Roxy and Glitter, ladies and gentlemen! Her husband is a lucky man!"

Everyone cheered one more time and I got off the stage and went back to my table.

Lily was cracking up. "I take it back! You are so not a prude! I recorded that for Al, by the way. He is going to have a stroke."

I laughed. "Do you think he will be mad?"

She snorted. "Only that he wasn't here to see it in person. I guarantee that he would have dropped the celibacy rule after that. Hell, I'm straight and that made _me_ want to shag you."

I rolled my eyes and accepted the drink that the waitress handed me.

"You and your friends won't be buying drinks the rest of the night." She told me. "Everyone in here just bought you one, so we are dividing them among you and your party."

I smiled at her. "Thank you. By the way, please make sure Glitter gets this." I handed her the wad of cash and she shook her head.

"It's a wedding gift from the club. We always allow the bachelorettes to keep the tips when they have the balls to get on that stage. Trust me, she will get plenty tonight in private dances after your show."

I smiled and nodded at her. "Thank you."

She winked at me. "No problem. Congratulations on your wedding."

She left and I told Lily what she said.

She laughed. "You better use it to buy me something pretty on your honeymoon since I was the one who got you up there in the first place."

"Remember that when you show Al that video." I told her.

She shook her head. "I was only kidding. I wouldn't show him this. It's your bachelorette party, and that is a no questions asked thing. Do you want to know what he is doing tonight?"

I shook my head. He was with Nix, Scor, his cousins, and his brothers. He was probably doing way worse with the strippers than I was.

"Exactly. There is a reason the men and the women have separate parties."

"Let's leave and go to your club!" I told her.

Her face lit up. "Really?"

I nodded. "I love that place and now I want to dance some more."

She hugged me and announced that we were moving the party and texted the limo driver. We all chipped in and gave the waitress a huge tip and I told her to give the rest of those already paid for drinks to the other women in the club.

When we got to Spitfire, the limo pulled up at the VIP entrance, and Lily led us in. She went to talk to the bartender, and I smiled at him when I saw it was the same guy as last time. She looked at me and frowned before looking around the club.

I went over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"The guys are here. I'm sorry, hun. Scor didn't tell me he was bringing Al here."

I shrugged. "It's ok. We can just ignore each other. We don't have to join parties."

She frowned again, but nodded. I knew she wanted to have a night without Scor around, but it wasn't like they had to hang out.

"Come dance with me!" I told her and we went to the dance floor.

We were not even through the first song when Vic ran over to us.

"The guys are here!" She said and looked really mad.

"We know." I told her. "We decided to ignore them and just have fun."

Her bottom lip poked out a bit, but she nodded anyway. She left and went back to the table, probably to tell the girls we were going to ignore the mix up.

Some guys asked us to dance, so we did. Eventually the other girls had enough drinks in them to realize we were right and decided to ignore the fact that their husbands and boyfriends were here as well. I wasn't even sure whether or not the men were aware of our presence.

At least, not until I ran into Nix on the dance floor. He saw me dancing with some guy and decided to cut in.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Dancing. You?"

He laughed. "Same."

"Before you warn your little friends, you should know that we are aware of the problem and have decided to ignore you. We don't care what you are all up to, as long as you don't interfere with our fun."

"We are behaving, I promise. Al isn't even drinking so he doesn't do something stupid."

I blushed and felt a twinge of guilt. "That's too bad for Al. I have already done plenty of stupid shit tonight and I am pretty sure I am bordering on drunk. If he finds out we are here, tell him he has my blessing to have as much fun as he wants as long as he doesn't sleep with anyone."

He nodded and left.

I walked back to the table, and let the girls know that the men were now officially aware of our presence.

"I just ran into Nix on the dance floor."

Carolynn went pale and lowered herself in her seat. I laughed at her.

"You are not going to believe this, but they are sober. I told them to have a good time and ignore us."

Ginny groaned. "They are not going to ignore us, Roxanne. They are going to make sure we are behaving."

I looked around and didn't see any of the guys.

"I don't see them anywhere. Maybe they left."

She shook her head.

"No. They are watching us."

Lily laughed. "Come on, mom. They just want us to think that. They probably took off already and went to another club. Besides, we are just having fun. They expected us to get drunk and have a good time. We were not up to anything we wouldn't have done in front of them. You are being as paranoid as dad."

She signaled the waitress who brought us a round of shots.

"Personally, I don't care if Teddy knows I am here or not." Vic said.

Some guys came over and asked us to dance. The older women shook their heads, but the rest of us followed them to the dance floor.

The guy who I was dancing with pointed to my stupid tiara that Lily was making me wear. "When is the big day?"

"Tomorrow." I told him.

He smiled at me. "That's too bad."

I rolled my eyes. "Why is that?"

"It's New Years' Eve! You should be kissing him in ten minutes!"

I laughed at him. "That is a silly tradition. Just because you kiss someone at midnight does not mean you are going to be kissing them for the rest of the year."

He shrugged. "It's a nice thought, though. I thought someone getting married in a day would be feeling more romantic."

I smiled and shook my head. "I am a very romantic person, but I am marrying my best friend, and I kissed him for the first time on New Year's Day, not New Year's Eve. Therefore, I know it is just a silly tradition."

"Who did you kiss at midnight the night before?"

I blushed. "His best friend. Who, by the way, is married to my soon to be sister in law." I nodded in Lily's direction.

He laughed. "How long ago was that kiss?"

"Four years ago."

They started doing the count down and we stopped dancing and cheered when the clock struck midnight. I felt hands on my waist when someone spun me around and got a glimpse of emerald green eyes right before I tasted sweet, sweet chocolate on my lips. I smiled and put my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"Are you having a good time?" He asked me after the kiss was over.

"Of course I am! Lily knows how to throw a party. You are supposed to be ignoring us, you know."

He smiled. "I have been watching you all night. When I saw you dancing with some guy right before the countdown, I decided you were only kissing me."

I frowned at him. "I don't care how drunk I am, you are the only man I am ever kissing again."

He looked confused. "Then what did you do that was so stupid my line was only drawn at shagging?"

I laughed. I was going to choke Nix. He wasn't supposed to tell him I already did something stupid.

"I kissed a girl." Among other things.

He laughed. "I was worried about nothing?"

I nodded. "He said you were not even drinking tonight, and I wanted you to relax and have fun. Dance with some pretty girls or something. Enjoy it while you can."

"I had a few beers, and I did dance."

"Before or after I said to have fun?"

"After, but it was because I felt guilty when I set limits on your party."

I laughed at him. "Sweetie, you have no idea what you are talking about. You shouldn't feel guilty over anything. Now go enjoy your last few hours as a single man. Take the guys to the strip club. In fact, have a lap dance on me."

He gave me a suspicious look, but took the money and kissed me before he went off to find the men. I smiled as I watched him leave and went off to find the ladies at our table.

"You should all know that I finally got rid of our men for the rest of the night. I gave Al some money for a lap dance and told him to have fun."

"So, what made you ok with them going to the strip club?" Vic asked.

"When the DJ said there was no touching. If he wants some girl to shake her tits in his face, I am happy to pay for it knowing he won't be touching her. Besides, it's his last night before we get married, and he only has about two hours left before he needs to get to sleep."

I did a few more shots with the girls and danced a bit more before we left the club to get to my house and go to bed. We were staying at my house and the guys were staying at Harry and Ginny's. We were getting married at the church in Godric's Hollow where Al's grandparents were buried. He picked it, and I thought that was really sweet of him.

I woke up the next afternoon when Lily put coffee under my nose. I felt an arm around me and looked over to see Rose and Vic still asleep.

"I need to call Mo." I told her.

She shook her head. "I already did, and he is fine. Gran said to tell you that he was well behaved, and he even put himself to bed an hour early. She promises that he will be at the church on time. Do you need a hangover potion?"

I nodded. "Thank you so much."

She handed me the bottle and I sat up and drank it before sipping my coffee.

"Someone needs to invent a hangover potion that doesn't taste like old sweaty ass." I told her and she chuckled at me.

"The secret is to try not to taste it. Just dump it straight down your throat." Rose said.

I looked over at her, and saw her face scrunched in pain. Lily handed her one, and she showed me how to do it. We decided to let Vic sleep for another hour if she didn't wake up on her own, and headed to the kitchen.

I picked up my phone and saw that I had six missed calls and a text message from Al.

"Lily, did you know Al had been trying to call me all day?"

She shook her head and picked up the paper. I saw the front page and dropped my coffee cup. There was a picture of me on stage at the strip club taking that girl's panties off with my teeth.

"Oh shit."

Lily gave me a curious glance and when she saw what I was looking at, she turned the paper over and her mouth fell open.

"Take the video and get to my mom's house." She handed me her camera and I bolted out the front door and down the street.

Al opened the door before I made it up the walkway and he looked furious.

"You said you kissed a girl, not shagged one on stage for a bunch of perverts!"

I held my hand up. "That isn't near as bad as you make it sound. I have the video if you want to see what really happened."

"You have a _video_?" He shouted.

"Well, it's Lily's, but yes."

He gave me scowl but stood aside and let me go in the house and plug the camera into his computer. I scrolled through the video until right before I got on stage. I could tell that was the part because it was when we had been having that serious conversation. I hit play and faced the screen at Al right when the DJ was calling me on stage.

He watched the video and I could see him look torn between amusement and anger. He cleared his throat a few times and I knew Lily was right that he would be turned on by it. When the song ended, I turned off the video and gave him a pleading look. I hoped this wasn't enough for him to leave me.

"Al, I was drunk and Lily volunteered me to do it, so I did it. Once I got on the stage I just kind of decided to go with it. It wasn't like I took my own clothes off. Your mother was there. I mean, honestly, if I did anything to betray you, don't you think she would have been pissed at me? Hell, she would have dragged me off of that stage by my hair and beat the crap out of me herself. I love you, baby, please say something."

He took my hands in his and looked me in my eyes.

"I am not pleased that you danced on a stage in a strip club and took her clothes off yourself. However, I know you, and I know that it wasn't something that you go around doing all the time. Just promise me that the next time you get on a pole it will be for my eyes only. I hate to admit it, but that was really fucking hot. I had a feeling they took a photo of the worst of it, but I couldn't help feeling angry."

I nodded.

"Do you still want to marry me?"

He kissed me and pulled me into his lap. "The thought to cancel our wedding never even crossed my mind. I just thought we would be fighting before our wedding, and I think that thought made me even more angry. You are allowed to do stupid shit sometimes, Roxy."

I nodded and kissed him again. "I am so lucky to have you."

He smiled and hugged me closer. "No, I am the lucky one. You should go, though. The ladies are probably waiting for you and you need to get ready. I will see you at the alter."

I smiled and he kissed me one more time before I left and went back home.

When I got back to the house I handed the camera to Lily and hugged her. "I am so glad you decided to record last night."

_**A/N: this chapter was getting long, but the wedding and honeymoon will be on the next one! I think Al and Roxy are so CUTE! The song she danced to was Porn Star Dancing by My Darkest Days.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N- I am still working on chapter 7, but I decided to go ahead and post what I have. I am getting frustrated at my honeymooners. They have been married a day and acting like an old married couple already D: Anyway, my husband read the last chapter earlier and thought the strip club scene was hilarious. BTW, on a personal note, I really did buy him a lap dance the night before we got married. He thought it was great..lol, and that's actually where I got the idea in the story from.**_

_**Anyway.. back to the story….**_

We collected our dresses and everything else we needed and took the limo to the church. Astoria used her wand to get rid of my puffiness when the muggles were not looking, and I wanted to kiss her for it. Lily did my hair in spiral curls and pinned it on top of my head so that random curls still fell loosely down my back and around my face. After she emptied a can of hairspray, she added a tiara that I swore looked like the one Rowena Ravenclaw had on in her statue that was in our common room. She put some mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss on me, and then stripped me to put on my wedding outfit.

It was a silver two piece skirt and top. The top was one shouldered with a kimono sleeve, trimmed in blue ribbon, and clung to my body. The hem came right above my belly button. The skirt rested on my hips and was loose and flowy. The top layer had a shredded look with blue ribbons braided like a belt across the top of it and hanging loose on the side. The skirt came down to my ankles with no train so that I could dance in it.

"You look breath taking, Rox. You should let me give you some silver eye shadow." Lily said. I nodded and let her do whatever she wanted. It's weird how all that silver and blue makes your eyes pop. They look huge."

"Blue is in purple so it does that. Please tell me that is the only thing that looks huge in this." I groaned.

She laughed at me. "Your boobs look bigger, but that isn't a bad thing either. Al is going to have a heart attack before you even get to him."

"Oh! Did he go get Mo from Gran's house?"

"No, Gran and Papa told him not to worry about it. They are going to bring him." She told me as she put her dress on. It was a blue dress that matched the ribbons in mine. It was tight on the top with spaghetti straps and fluffed out on the bottom, falling to about mid-thigh. Her hair was wavy and fell down her back aside from one barrette. All of my bridesmaids had the same dress and wore their hair the same way. I told them they didn't have to, but Lily insisted.

"Where are the girls?"

"Vic went to get you a glass of champagne, Rose and Vic are making sure the guys have their tuxes on right, Carolynn is picking the bouquets up from the florist, and Erin is running a personal errand for me."

I smiled at her. "You are on it, Lils!"

"Naturally. Your mother should be in soon to put your veil on. Don't worry, I have a few things I set aside for her to do if she starts getting weepy and I have to throw her out."

"Thanks for that. I don't want her getting me started before I walk down the aisle."

"Speaking of that, um, I just wanted to tell you that I am so happy that you are marrying Al. I love you so much, Roxy, and I am grateful to be getting you as a sister in law. I already think of you as a sister, and now it's official. You should know that the whole family loves you and Mo, and we all welcome you both with open arms."

I grabbed a tissue and dabbed my tears. "I love you too, Lils. We have always been family, though. I never thought of you as anything less than a sister. It didn't take my being with Al to do that. You were here long before he was."

She sniffled and hugged me and my mom walked in.

"Oh wow, you girls look beautiful! Why are you crying? Am I interrupting a moment?"

I stood up and shook my head. "I love you, Mom!" I ran to her and gave her a hug.

Lily laughed and sighed. "And we thought she was going to get us started."

I laughed too. "This is your fault."

My mom put my veil on and started crying again.

Lily gasped. "Oh my gosh! Mrs. McAllister, I forgot to give the music Roxy wanted played when the bridesmaids walk to the pianist! Could you do that for me while I fix her makeup? We should be starting soon, too."

My mom nodded and left the room with the sheet music after giving me another hug. I laughed at Lily and shook my head.

"It's a good thing you use your powers for good."

She winked at me. "Who said I did that?"

Carolynn came in with the bouquets followed by the rest of the girls. They were all wearing the diamond necklaces I had given them. My bouquet was four white calla lilies and blue daisies.

"You all look so beautiful!" I told them and gave each of them a hug.

My father came in and got teary eyed when he saw me. "We are ready, girls."

They all walked out of the room, and my father gave me a hug. "I am so proud of you, Roxy. Al is a good man and he loves you and Gavin more than anything. It's all a father could ask for."

"Thank you, Daddy."

We heard the music for the girls start, and my father kissed my cheek and lowered my veil over my face. He opened the door to the room so I could see when they had all gone. After Lily smiled at me and went, the doors to the chapel closed, and my father and I took our place behind them. I took a deep breath, and Beethoven's 'Love Story' started.

"Are you ready?" My father asked me.

"Yes."

The doors opened, and I looked straight at Al and smiled. His eyes lit up and he said something to Nix who smiled and nodded before saying something else to him. I narrowed my eyes at them and they grinned at me.

When I got to the front, I smiled at Al and he winked at me.

"You look amazing, Love." He told me.

The minister cleared his throat, and the ceremony began. We both had tears as we said our vows and exchanged our rings. I heard Lily sniffle behind me and I smiled. She didn't get this choked up at her own wedding.

When the ceremony was over, and Al lifted my veil, he pulled me to him and grinned.

"It's about damn time." He said, and kissed me.

Someone cleared their throat after a few seconds, but that only made him pull me closer to him.

I started laughing and he finally let me go.

"It's nice to see an enthusiastic groom." The minister said with a chuckle, and introduced us as Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

When the ceremony was over, we took pictures, got in the limo and headed over to the nightclub for the reception. Mo wasn't thrilled that he was riding with Gran and Papa, but we pretended not to hear him crying.

"What did you say to Nix when I was coming down the aisle?"

He laughed. "Why?"

"I was just wondering what was more important than me."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I said, 'I win'."

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Because I did, and he agreed. You think they don't still have feelings for you? You never get over your first love, Roxy. Don't worry, he didn't take it the wrong way, but had one of the other two married you, they would have said the same thing. Don't tell Lily."

I laughed at him and shook my head. I leaned over him and hit the divider button to separate us from the driver and slid into Al's lap, facing him. I grinned and leaned my forehead against his, and he kissed my nose.

I rubbed my nose against his, and kissed him.

"I love you, Husband."

He smirked at me. "I love you too, Wife." He pulled me to him again and brushed his lips against mine. He ran his tongue along my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth to let him in. He groaned and grabbed my hips to pull me closer to him, and I felt his erection beneath me. I gripped his hair tighter and pulled his mouth closer and moaned.

There was a knock on the divider as we felt the limo stop and we both sighed. I slid off of him and he fixed his hair before I lowered the divider.

"Yes?"

"We are here, Miss."

"Thank you."

Al and I grinned at each other, and exited the limo to go into the night club. We were not expecting the paparazzi to be there, but we smiled anyway. I was so pissed at them and wished I had known which one had taken that photo of me the night before.

We entered the club, and it looked beautiful inside. Lily had outdone herself. She had the tables in the VIP section and left the dance floor clear. The whole place was decorated in blue and silver. We were the last ones to get there, and everyone stood and applauded when the DJ announced us. The driver must have taken the long way. It sure didn't feel like that when we were making out and got interrupted.

We went to our table with the wedding party, and I gave Lily a hug.

"This place looks amazing, Lils. I have no idea how you did it."

She grinned at me. "You know me, I always pull everything together."

We were served dinner, and after we ate, I let Mo come sit with us, and much to my surprise, it wasn't Al he wanted. I stuck my tongue out at him when he held his arms out and Mo pushed past him to climb in my lap.

"Mommy, I missed you."

"Aw sweetheart, Mommy missed you too. Were you a good boy for Gran?"

He nodded and gave me his angel face. I knew he had done something wrong, but no one was telling. I kissed his cherub cheeks, and he buried them into my chest.

Lily and Nix stood up, so I knew it was time for the toasts.

Nix started. "Ladies and gentlemen, I know it is traditional for the Best Man and Maid of Honor to give a toast at this point, but Lily and I got together with the rest of the wedding party, and we decided that we wanted to do something special for our favorite newlyweds."

He gestured to Lily and she gave me an evil grin before continuing. "Many of you may not know this, but when Roxy and Al first met, she could not stand him. She thought he was just a jock pervert-"

I cleared my throat and interrupted her. "A big headed jock-pervert-man whore."

Everyone laughed and she grinned at me again before going on. "Yes, that. Roxy always had this idea in her head about a knight in shining armor to fall in love with. Now, I know she thinks she gave that dream up to be with my brother, but we have done something to hopefully assure her she got both."

The lights went out and a song called 'Photograph' started playing as photos of Al and I as children flashed across a giant screen. I smiled at our baby pictures and ones of us as children popped up. There were a few I had forgotten all about. There were also some very embarrassing ones of both of us, but I just laughed at those with everyone else. I gasped when the one of my sleeping in my school uniform the night before my first day at Hogwarts came up. I couldn't believe my mother had given Lily that one. The photos went into our first year in school, and of course there were none we were both in because we didn't know each other or like each other. It was mostly Al and his friends hanging out, and me and Mandi hanging out. The first Halloween party, the first Christmas party, One of Mandi and I kissing at midnight that first year. Quite a few of me drawing in the common room, and a bunch of the guys acting like boys. I laughed when I saw one of Scor and Al wresting in the common room and I was in the background trying to do homework with some of the girls in our house and we were scowling at them. I was pleased that even though some of the pictures were taken in school, they were still muggle safe. No wands, ghosts, or floating anything in any of them. Lily and the guys had worked very hard on this.

The song changed and I laughed. It was 'I Need a Hero'. Again there were not very many that we were both in, but the ones we were, you could see my plain contempt for him. There was even one where I was rolling my eyes at him. It looked like it had been one of Lily's birthday parties. There were some of Al and his friends, and a few of me, Lily and Mandi. There was one of me sitting at the lake under my tree drawing in third year. That was the point things took a turn I didn't expect. There was one of us asleep in Ginny's minivan. Al was between Lily and I and we were curled into each other. He looked so protective even in sleep. There was another where we were fighting over a video game and I laughed at that. I had thrown the controller at him and given him a black eye. Poor Lily was trying to break it up, and I supposed James was the one who had taken the picture. There was another one that looked like it had been from the same day. We had fallen asleep on the couch and again, Al looked like he was protecting me. He had one arm around me and the other was holding down my skirt. I blushed and wondered how many times I had fallen asleep with him growing up. I felt his arm around me and put my head on his shoulder. There were a lot of us just with our friends, and the few where we were together were very similar. I elbowed him in the ribs as I was reminded of one particular day during the summer before sixth year. It was a camping trip we had gone on. He had me over his shoulder and was running towards the river. I was still in my pajamas. The next one was Teddy pulling me out. Al hadn't anticipated the tide and current that early in the morning and I damn near drowned. Another of me beating the crap out of him right after. I was still soaking wet. There was another of me drawing under the tree, and he was nearby staring at me. He was just standing there with his grin looking at me.

I smiled at him and he kissed my forehead.

We came on seventh year and the song changed to 'Believe' as a photo of the drawing I did for him came up. My mouth fell open at what followed. There we were New Year's Day four years ago. He was holding me while my face was bleeding and my eyes were narrowed at him and he had that stupid grin on his face. The picture changed and he was kissing me and my eyes were open in shock. It changed again and I was quite plainly enjoying the kiss. I wondered why no one told me that photo was there. The funny part was you could see Scor and Nix in the background looking highly jealous. The next one was us at school all sitting by the lake while I drew and they horsed around. There were quite a few we had all posed for as well. There was one of me straddling him in the great hall when I was trying to make Mandi jealous. I could tell from the angle that Lily had taken it. I smiled when I saw the one Silver had taken of Lily and I when we got our tattoos. There was one of all of us in that club sitting at the table after the breakup, some of us in my flat hanging out. One of my launch party at the tattoo parlor where we were showing off our new tattoos and Scor's piercing. One of Al kissing my pregnant belly, followed by a few more of my pregnancy, including his delivering Mo. There were also some of the three of us together. I noticed Spencer was in a few, but not many of the photos and silently thanked Lily for that. I smiled when I saw one of Al pushing Mo and I on the tire swing in front of the house. I looked terrified, and Mo looked thrilled to death. Al was obviously laughing at my was one of Al proposing at Lily's wedding, and the last one was us kissing last night at midnight.

When it ended, I wiped the tears from my face and stood to hug all of my wedding party. Everyone clapped, and I saw quite a few people also going for tissues.

"I had no idea you guys were such stalkers." I told them and they smiled at me. "It was very beautiful. Thank you."

Al hugged them as well. "I have to say, I had no idea you all could do something like this. It was lovely. Thank you all so much."

Nix stood again. "To the Bride and Groom!"

Everyone repeated him and then he sat back sat back down.

We were called to do the first dance, and I brought Mo with us. Al and I felt like he should be a part of our first dance as a real family. I had picked the song since Al picked the last one we danced to. Al lifted Mo to his side and pulled me to him as we slow danced together. The three of us were in our own world.

_I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me  
I still feel your touch in my dreams  
Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why  
Without you it's hard to survive_

'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling  
And everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast?  
I want this to last  
I need you by my side

Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static  
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky  
Can't you hear my heart beat so?  
I can't let you go  
I want you in my life

Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky  
They wipe away tears that I cry  
The good and the bad times, we've been through them all  
You make me rise when I fall

'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling  
And everytime we kiss I swear I could fly  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast?  
I want this to last  
I need you by my side

'Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static  
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky  
Can't you hear my heart beat so?  
I can't let you go  
I want you in my life

'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling  
And everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly  
Can't you feel my heart beat fast?  
I want this to last  
I need you by my side

When the song ended, Al kissed me and took Mo to his Gran so I could dance with my father and he could dance with his mother.

"That was sweet of you to include Mo in your first dance, Pumpkin."

"He is part of this family too. Al is already Daddy to him, and I want him to feel like he is included. It's not just me and Al, just like it's not me and Mo. We are changing his name to Potter when we get back from Japan and I legally change my own name. Al is adopting him."

"Did you talk to the Matthews' about this?"

"Yes. They were more angry than when I changed it to McAllister after Spencer abandoned him. I told them that I was only informing them out of courtesy and that they had no real say in it. Mo turns three this year and starts preschool. I want him to start recognizing himself as Al's son publicly, and for people to recognize him as a Potter."

"You can't change his birth certificate or DNA, Pumpkin. He is going to know that Al isn't his biological father eventually."

I sighed. "Daddy, we are not erasing Spencer. He knows Spencer is his biological father, but Al is his Daddy. We don't want the step titles and I don't want people reminding him his last name isn't the same as ours or his future siblings. Please support us in this."

He nodded. "Of course I will. I just wanted to make sure you were not trying to rewrite history. It's bad for Mo."

I kissed his cheek as the song ended and smiled at him. "I promise."

Al and I went to sit down so the wedding party could dance before everyone else was able to take the floor. Mo came running back over to us and climbed onto Al this time. He told us all about his night at Gran's house. I was glad he enjoyed it because he was going to be there for another week so Al and I could go on our honeymoon. It had been a tough decision, but in the end, we decided if we took him with us we would wish we had taken the time alone. We wanted to have a real honeymoon. I had no idea where we were going, but Al assured me I would love it and it would be romantic.

We cut the wedding cake, and Al wiped frosting on my nose and then licked it off. I laughed at him and when I kissed him after, I noticed that even through the vanilla icing I could still taste chocolate. I wondered if they made a special toothpaste or breath mint I was unaware of.

They brought out a chair for me to sit on while he removed my garter. Al made a show of it of course. He got on his knees in front of me and wiggled his eyebrows while giving me his mischievous grin. I blushed and shook my head. He nodded and Scor came over and tied his hands behind his back with a scarf.

"Just to make sure he doesn't cheat." Scor said and walked off.

I saw Draco cover Mo's eyes and mouthed 'thank you' to him and he nodded. His face was red. I had no idea Draco Malfoy could blush.

"Al, how are you going to lift my skirt enough to get under there in the first place?"

He grinned. "Shh. I have a plan."

A plan he did have. Too bad it didn't work. After a few minutes of his failed attempts to get under my skirt, I rolled my eyes and lifted it for him.

"Hey that's cheating!" Scor shouted.

I stuck my tongue at him and tried to ignore my husband's tongue making its way around my thigh.

"You shut up. Lily wore a mini dress, so it was easier for you."

Al nipped my thigh, and my face went red and I kicked him. I could feel him laughing as he finally had his fun and bit my garter to slide it off. He got it off and I untied his hands so he could throw it to Nix. It was obvious to me that was where he was aiming, anyway. Nix used his excellent seeking skills and caught it as it whizzed past his head.

I tossed my bouquet to the girls, and Rose caught it. I saw Ron frown, but he needed to get over it. The girl was 20 years old for Merlin's sake. She had been dating Josh Zabini sine Lily's wedding, and everyone knew just how not pleased with that her father was. In all fairness, he wouldn't have been happy no matter who she dated.

Everyone danced the rest of the night, and we all had a great time. I made sure we waited to leave until after Al's grandparents did. We said goodbye to Mo and gave him lots of hugs and kisses. Al wasn't going to allow me to call him until we had already gotten where we were going so that I couldn't change my mind about bringing him.

After Gran and Papa left with Mo, Al and I left and went home. We were leaving early in the morning, so we needed to get some sleep. Not to mention we were exhausted from the night before and that whole day. He carried me over the threshold, and I giggled at him. He could really be romantic when he wanted to be.

"Did you really just giggle, Mrs. Potter?"

"Did you really just do something romantic, Mr. Potter?"

I screamed and gripped his neck when he acted like he was going to drop me. He walked into our bedroom and laid me down on the bed. He leaned over and kissed me. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Give me just a minute." He told me. "Don't move. I will be right back."

I nodded and watched him walk out of my room. I wondered if I should get undressed or anything. I wished I hadn't packed the nightie that Lily had given me as a gift. I unpinned my hair. The pins had been sticking me in the scalp all night, and took off the tiara that Lily's Gran had asked me to wear. She had inherited it from an aunt and was heartbroken when Lily didn't wear it on her wedding day.

Al came back in the room with a chilled bottle of champagne, two glasses, and some chocolate covered strawberries. He turned out the lights and candles lit all over my room. I looked nervously at them, but didn't want to ruin the effort he had put into being romantic.

I smiled at him and sat up so he could sit next to me on the bed. "No rose petals?"

He shook his head and handed me a glass of champagne. "You hate roses."

"How do you possibly remember that?"

He smiled and brushed my hair from my cheek and put it behind my hair. "I know everything about you, Roxy. I know your favorite colors are blue and green, your favorite flowers are daisies and calla lilies, though that isn't hard to figure out. Your favorite food is dim sum, you like your pizza with olive oil, white cheese, spinach, chicken, and basil. Your pet peeve is a tie between squeezing the toothpaste from anywhere but the bottom and answering the phone 'hi', you like American music that even my parents would consider old, you have this weird thing about eyes, and my favorite thing about you is you sing all the time and don't even realize you are doing it."

I blushed. "You really pay attention, don't you?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Can you do it?"

I nodded and smirked at him. "Your favorite color is lilac, but you tell people its yellow, your favorite flower is sunflowers, your favorite food is spaghetti, you like your pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, onions and bacon with almost no sauce, your pet peeve is when people bite their nails, you like rock music, your favorite smell is fresh baked bread, and my favorite thing about you is that you somehow manage to taste like chocolate all the time." I held up a finger. "How _do_ you do that?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of chocolate kisses. I almost rolled my eyes at the irony. "I kind of have an addiction to them. I eat them all the time. I suppose after all these years the taste doesn't leave my mouth."

I laughed at him. "That's it? I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head. I thought there was some unknown toothpaste you were using, or that your parents really made you from a strand of your father's hair and a chocolate bar because you look like his doppelganger aside from the fact your hair is longer."

He laughed at my craziness. "If you had asked sooner I would have told you. It's not a government secret or anything. I almost feel like I disappointed you that it wasn't something crazier."

I took a bite of one of the strawberries and pouted. "I think you did too."

He grinned at me. "Aw, poor baby. You have some chocolate on the corner of your mouth."

He leaned forward and licked it off and I almost had an orgasm right then. My breath hitched and he continued run his tongue along my lips until he entered my mouth. My heart fluttered and I moaned and pulled him closer. He ran his hand up my thigh and I moved my leg to put it in his lap so that he was between my legs. He kissed me across my jawline and down my neck. I moaned an pulled his hair. His lips and breath felt so good across my skin. I loosened his tie and pulled it over his head so that I could unbutton his shirt. He unzipped my top and pulled it off of me. When I got his shirt open, he looked so sexy like that I didn't want to take it off the rest of the way. I committed it to memory to draw it later. I ran my fingers down his chest and felt his muscles twitch under my touch. His heart was racing and he started breathing heavier. I knew he was restraining himself from going too fast and I was torn between which direction I wanted him to go.

He kissed down my chest and flicked my belly button ring with his tongue. I knew he loved that thing. It was the reason I actually got it put back in. He always loved to play with it before I had to take it out when I got pregnant. He lifted my skirt up and bunched it at my waist, dipped his head lower and used his teeth to take my panties off and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He kissed his way back up my leg, and put a love bite on my inner thigh. I remembered that old game, but didn't say anything. I was going to mark him in a more obvious place later.

I moaned his name and he moved to my core and ran his tongue over my lips before pushing it deeper to play with my clit. I cried out for him and gripped the sheets. He felt so amazing. He slid a finger in me and I flinched away for a second. It had been so long since I had had sex that it felt new again. He slid another finger in and slowly moved them in and out until I tightened on them and released my climax.

He came up and hovered over me and though he had a smile on his face, I could see the animalistic lust in his eyes. I leaned up and kissed him while I unbuckled his belt and undid his pants. I reached in and gripped his hardness and stroked it a few times before he pulled back to take his pants and boxers off. He moved back between my legs and adjusted himself at my entrance.

"I love you, Roxy. Are you ready?"

"I love you too Al, please make love to me."

He slowly entered me and filled me up. I moaned and cried out with the pleasure and wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Oh god, Roxy, you feel so good." He moaned.

"So do you, baby." I breathed.

He went almost painfully slow at first and I scratched at his back and shoulders to encourage him to go faster, but my pigheaded husband wanted to take his sweet time.

"Please go faster, baby." I cried out

He chuckled at me. "So impatient."

I let out a small whine and he thrust deeper and a bit faster and my whine turned into a scream.

"Oh god, Al!"

"Does that feel good?"

I nodded. "Yes!"

He went faster and I grabbed the headboard and screamed and moaned. He groaned and screamed out his own pleasure and I reached my climax when he did.

"I love you, baby." He told me as he released his seed inside of me.

"I love you too."

He rolled over to his side and pulled me to his chest.

"Mine forever."

I nodded and flicked my wand to put out the candles before drifting off to sleep in his arms.

When I woke up the next morning, Al and I were wrapped around each other and he was kissing my neck.

I giggled and rolled over, but he moved my hair out of the way and kissed and licked up and down my spine.

I moaned and he rolled me back over and pulled me on top of him.

"Insatiable bastard." I said with a chuckle.

He nodded and bit his lip. He grabbed my hips and I lifted to insert him inside of me. We made love until I was screaming his name and we were both satisfied. I collapsed onto his chest and he held me for a few minutes before we decided we had to get up and get going.

He went into our bathroom and I went into the kitchen to make us some coffee. Only, the coffee was already made. Along with a basket of blueberry muffins and a jug of orange juice. I smiled at the food and grabbed a muffin. Somehow they were still very warm. I heard Al get out of the shower and walked back there to kiss him.

"Thank you for breakfast, baby."

"Huh?"

"Uh, the muffins, coffee and OJ?"

"I didn't make anything. I was going to take you out." He honestly looked confused.

I went pale. "Al there are muffins in the kitchen and they are still hot." I gasped. "Oh my god. Someone heard us." The kitchen was right outside of my bedroom, and my door had not been closed all the way.

He laughed and went into the kitchen and tasted a muffin.

"These are my mother's muffins. It was either her or my father." He was laughing hysterically. I had not exactly been quiet. "That's what they get for walking into someone's house without calling first."

I looked down at my phone. Four missed calls from his mother's phone.

"They did. They must have thought we were still asleep." My hand was shaking. This was so embarrassing.

Al pulled me into a hug. "Don't freak out, babe. We are married. It's kind of expected."

"I hope it was your mother. I wouldn't be able to look your father in the eye for months."

"The hell you say. My dad is far cooler than my mom."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Your mother tipped me twenty pounds at the strip club and told me to take it off."

He threw his head back and laughed. "That's where Lily gets that shit from." I rolled my eyes and headed into the shower and he slapped my ass as I was leaving. "As long as I am the only one who gets to see it for free!" He called after me.

_**A/N: ok, I was wrong. The honeymoon is the next chapter. I wanted to do the wedding and the wedding night some justice. By the way, before I piss off too many people, and I should have done this sooner, sorry about the Ravenclaw colors mix up. I am aware it's blue and bronze, not blue and silver, but I did not realize what I had done until I had already posted the prequel to this, and decided just to go with it. I have no idea why I thought Slytherin was green and bronze and Ravenclaw was blue and silver.**_

_**The proper song versions in this are Photograph by nickleback, I need a hero from Shrek 2, Believe by Staind ( the inspiration for this story. I know the story is in Roxy's POV, but the song is Al's POV.), and Everytime we touch (slow version) by Cascada. What did you think of the slide show idea? I thought it was super adorable!**_

_**Anyway, Next chapter is the honeymoon and we find out what the sex of Lily's baby is! She hasn't told me yet, so I have no idea. My husband thought I was a crazy person when I wrote the muffin part. I was laughing like a lunatic, and he was staring at me like I was about to kill him or something…HAHA.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: *groan*.. yes, I saw what I did there.. just pretend I didn't mess up Roxy's surprise for her. I was thinking about Japan already when I was writing that part, and it slipped onto the page. I read that chapter three times before I posted it, and still didn't see what I did until I read it again on the live preview.. grrrr.**_

When I got out of the shower, I sent a text message to Ginny to thank her for the muffins and pretended like I had no idea she or her husband heard us in the bedroom.

After we got dressed and Al shrank our bags to put them in his pocket, he put a blindfold over my eyes and we apparated twice before he took it off. We were standing in front of an old fashioned hot springs resort.

"Are we in Japan?" I asked him.

He smiled at me and nodded. "Yep. I know you always wanted to come here."

I jumped into his arms and gave him a big hug. I couldn't believe he had taken me to Japan!

"Not only that, but today is January 2nd. The Imperial Palace is open to the public."

My eyes lit up, and I ran into the resort to get us checked in. He came in behind me, laughing and carrying our bags that he had enlarged back to size. We checked in and went to our room.

"Um, where is the bed?" He asked.

I laughed. "You planned this trip and didn't think to see if this was an eastern or western style resort? I can tell you by looking at the outside that it's eastern."

"There is a difference?"

I grinned and motioned at the room. "Obviously. Although, if we are going to be in Japan, I prefer it this way."

"You watch too much damn anime, Roxy." He said, shaking his head.

I called Molly to check on Mo, and she assured me that he was doing fine and behaving himself. I could tell she was enjoying having him there. She said Vic and Teddy were bringing Dora by later to play with him.

When I got off the phone with her, we left and went to the Imperial Palace. We spent the entire day walking around the grounds and taking pictures. Some people were kind enough to take some of us together.

After the palace, we went into Tokyo for dinner. We found an amazing sushi restaurant, and I talked Al into trying things he has never tried before. I had the advantage of being fluent in Japanese, and he didn't. I ordered for him in Japanese, and he had no idea what he was eating until I told him after he decided if he liked it or not. I knew he was not adventurous when it came to his food, so I was very proud of him for at least giving things a try.

We went back to the resort and got into our private hot spring. It was so relaxing.

We sank into the water, and he sat across from me.

"This feels amazing." I told him. "My feet are killing me."

He moved next to me and took my foot in his hands and started rubbing it.

"Is this better?" He asked.

"Much. Wow. I had no idea you were so good at that."

"I would have done it for you when you were pregnant, but it wasn't exactly appropriate."

I laughed. "Yeah, Spencer would have shit. He was the jealous type."

"I can't say I blame him. I am the same way if you have not noticed yet. A pretty girl like you needs to be watched. There is always another man waiting on the sidelines for you to screw it up."

"No there isn't."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You must be blind, Rox. Everywhere we go men stare at you like you are made of candy. When you were with Spencer, I was the one waiting patiently."

"Y-you waited for me?"

He nodded. "I was determined to be available if things didn't work out. I decided to wait until the day you married him."

My mouth hung open. "Al, we were engaged. You didn't even give up then?"

He shook his head and pulled me into his lap. "I always hoped you would be with me again, Roxy. The longer it took you to set a wedding date, the more my hopes were built up. I knew I had to give you time after the two of you split, and for a while I was scared I had given you too much time, and that you would never look at me the way you used to again."

"But I don't, Al. I don't see you the same way because you are not the same person anymore. I wouldn't have married you the way you were back then. You have become a strong, independent, and responsible man. You were a great guy, don't get me wrong, but I would never have been able to see a future with you. You were immature, selfish, and don't forget, you _did_ share me quite willingly with other men.

I love that you are jealous and possessive now. When I look in your eyes, I can see the love you have for me. I see how much you love Mo. You are sweet and kind, you have become more open with your feelings, and wow, you are romantic. The old Al never would have thought to bring me to Japan. We probably would have been at a quidditch training camp somewhere or on a beach so you could gawk at girls in bikinis."

He blushed. "I did consider the beach, but not for that reason. I thought you might like to escape the cold. However, taking more vacations is going to be difficult in the future because we have Mo, and I work a lot. I wanted to make sure you got your trip to Japan while you could enjoy it, and not have to wait years for it. We can go to the beach some other time."

"Al, I probably should have asked this last night, but what are we doing about more kids? Yes? No? Are we waiting? I wasn't worried about it too much because I know for a fact I am not fertile right now, but I need to know if I am supposed to be using the contraceptive charm."

"I wasn't too worried about it, to be honest. I don't think married couples should use protection, but look who raised me. I have six uncles and more cousins than I can count. It's up to you, Roxy. I would love more kids, but you are the one who has to go through pregnancy and labor. It's your body. If you want to wait, we can wait. If you want more kids, we can get out of this hot spring right now and go work on it."

I laughed. "Not that it would do any good. I am fertile on the 15th, remember?"

He gave me an odd look. "What makes you think that?"

"Because that was when I conceived Mo."

He laughed. "Are your cycles exactly the same as they were before you got pregnant? I mean, I don't want to sound like your Healer right now, but it might be different now."

"No."

"When was your last one?"

"Two weeks ago."

"Fourteen days?"

I nodded and he laughed again. "I think you are jinxed when it comes to sex, Rox. When we get back home, I will make you a pregnancy test. I have the ingredients in my bag."

"How long does it take after conception to tell if you are or not?"

"24 hours."

I shrugged. "Oh well, if I am, I am. We are married, right? It's not like we can't afford more children, and to be honest, I would like to have another one."

He pulled me to him and kissed me. "That's my girl! You really are a Weasley, you know that?"

I threw my head back and laughed. "Gran sure seems to think so. Have you seen the way she tries to feed me? You would think I was your uncle Ron."

He nodded. "That's true, but if you recall, when you were pregnant, you were not exactly complaining."

"That's because she was letting me eat things that you wouldn't, and she told you to shut your pie hole when you got mad at me. She turned you from big bad healer to a scared little rabbit in a flash. All you could do was sit there and glare at me. I was happy to sit there and eat every bite that she put in front of me."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Hateful women."

I stuck my tongue out at him and got out of the hot spring. "I'm tired. Let's go to bed."

He nodded and hopped out after me.

We went to sleep two hours later.

We spent the rest of the week sightseeing around Japan and shopping. I bought Mo a ton of gifts, and Al teased me about spoiling him, but I shut him up with a glare. I bought Lily a beautiful silk kimono that I knew she would love. It was gold and had red lilies on it. I bought kimonos for the rest of the women as well, but Lily's was by far my favorite. Al laughed when I bought James some hentai anime, but agreed that he would love it. I also bought Molly a bonsai tree, and found a remote control robot for Arthur in a toy store. I got Dora a giant stuffed Hello Kitty doll and some anime videos for kids. She was my niece now, and I was going to get her into anime like her Aunt Roxy.

"George would make a fortune if he opened one of his shops in Tokyo." I told Al while we were out shopping on our last day.

He nodded and agreed with me. "I think so too. I know he has been talking about opening stores in other countries, but hasn't done it yet."

"He opened that store in Paris." I reminded him.

"That doesn't count. The French never count, Roxy."

I laughed and nudged him with my elbow. "I'm telling Vic and Fleur you said that."

"They know, they just don't like to admit it."

"Let's go to a night club tonight! That's the only thing we haven't done yet." I said.

"Anything you want, love. Just remember we are leaving in the morning."

"I know!" I said with a smile. "I am so sad to leave, but I miss my little monster."

His phone went off and he took it out of his pocket.

"Text from Lily. She said Astoria was checking on the baby and they know the sex."

"Really? What is it?"

He frowned and rolled his eyes. "She didn't say."

My phone buzzed and I opened it. "She sent me one too. She knows we are together, why would she send us both the same message?"

I opened the message and laughed. It said three words.

"Lyra Roxanne Malfoy."

Al smiled. "It's a girl."

"Congratulations, Uncle Al." I told him. "Now you have a little girl to spoil."

"I already had that, love. Lots of them actually." He chuckled.

"Yes, but this is Lily's little girl. I promise there will be a difference."

That night when we returned from the night club my curiosity got the better of me and I went into Al's medibag. I fished his book out and found the ingredients for the potion I wanted. I got lucky as it didn't even require a cauldron. I mixed the potions into a small vial and pricked my finger. I watched as the color turned and smiled to myself. I debated about waking him up, but instead decided to leave the vial on his nightstand for him to see when he woke up.

I woke up a few hours later and he was kissing my neck.

"Morning, Al." I said as I tried to bury deeper into my pillow.

"I saw what you did last night when I was asleep, Roxy."

I nodded. "I meant for you to."

"I made another potion. I want to make sure it was done correctly before I get overly excited."

I rolled over and narrowed my eyes at him. "You do not trust your own wife to correctly brew a simple pregnancy potion?"

He laughed at me. "Not when that wife received an A in potions class."

"Well excuse me, but it was not like I cared about the class. It had nothing to do with what I wanted to do."

"Exactly. That is why I redid it. Give me your finger."

I gave him a finger, alright. He laughed at me and pricked it anyway. He kissed the wound, and we watched as the vial turned a much more vibrant shade of gold than it had the night before.

He gave me an evil grin and I smacked him in the head with my pillow.

"It was still gold, Al."

"My point was still proven."

"You made your point, Daddy. May I go back to sleep now?"

"Hell no. Do you have any idea how turned on I am that you are carrying my child?" He asked. He was giving me a pretty good idea as he was crawling over me as he said it.

I thought of something and stopped him.

"No."

"What? You are refusing me?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"I want coffee."

He looked at me with a mixture of anger and amusement. "Wait a minute. You are trading sex for coffee?"

I nodded. "I want coffee, Al."

He sighed. "If you had not gotten into my bag last night you would have gotten it this morning anyway. You can have coffee today and I won't say a word."

"If you had not stuck my finger to check my potions homework first thing this morning, you would have gotten shagged without having to bargain for coffee."

He laughed and kissed my neck.

"I love you, Rox."

"I love you too, Al."

That afternoon we apparated straight to Gran's house, and to my delight, Mo ran straight to me instead of Al. I knew it was a petty thought, but I was jealous sometimes how much Mo seemed to prefer Al.

We went inside and sat down at the kitchen table to talk to Gran and Papa. We told them about our trip and I showed them the pictures of the palace and the other places we had gone. They saw the pictures of Al eating and I explained to them about how I forced him to try new things the entire time we were there. They loved the gifts we brought them and Papa was about to go straight out to try his robot, but I stopped him.

"There is something we wanted to talk to you about." I said and looked at Al.

He beamed at them. "This morning we found out that Roxy is pregnant. Now, she isn't far along at all. It happened on our wedding night, but we wanted you to know. We are really excited."

Gran squealed with delight at learning she was getting some more great-grandbabies. She had told me once that the reason she wanted so many kids was for all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren. This woman loved her family more than anything in the world, and having more of it, pleased her to tears.

"Did Lily talk to you yet?" I asked her.

"No, not yet, why? Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine. She found out what she was having, but I am going to let her tell you."

She looked at Al who was talking to Papa and pulled me to the side.

"If you tell me I promise to be surprised, and I will give you a cup of coffee when you visit me while Al is at work."

What could I say? The woman knew my weakness. I looked her straight in the eyes and sang like a canary.

"It's a girl. They are naming her Lyra Roxanne Malfoy." I whispered.

"Well it's really too bad I couldn't even bribe you, Roxy." She said a bit louder as Al was staring at us with his eyes narrowed.

I nodded. "I am a tough nut to crack, Gran. Shame on you."

She winked at me and fed us some of her onion soup and sandwiches. We listened as Mo told us all about the fin he had at Gran's house. It sounded like he spent most of the time tormenting the garden gnomes.

"He didn't pick up any of their words, did he?" I asked Papa.

"Only a few, but we told him those were naughty words and he stopped saying them."

"I still cannot believe those boys taught them that!" Gran said wringing a towel and surely pretending it was George's neck. I had heard all about the younger days of Fred and George Weasley. I hated that I never got to meet the other twin and I knew that much like everyone else, I would have loved him to pieces.

That night I had trouble sleeping. I was so happy at how my life was coming around. I had the greatest family in the world, a son, and another baby on the way. I thought about everything that had happened in the last four years as I looked next to me at my sleeping husband.

It was all definitely worth it to bring me to this point.

Epilogue-

On Spetember 5th, Lily and Scorpius gave birth to Lyra Roxanne Malfoy. They had three children in total.

On October 3rd, Roxy and Al gave birth to twin girls, Gwendolyn Lily Potter and Ginerva Molly Potter. They followed with four more children.

Phoenix and Carolynn married on July 10th and had one boy named Lynx Scorpius Malfoy.

They all lived happily ever after.

_**A/N: So this is the end. I am very sorry if you thought the ending was weak, but I felt like I had taken this story as far as I could. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me and reviewed.**_


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